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  “That’s why I wanted, and still do want, you, Tavian, and Dante to get out of here.”

  “No, I won’t leave and take Tavian and Dante from you. You need them,” she said calmly, digesting everything with great composure and grace.

  “I have a Second Generation super vampire and a Voodoo priestess on my side, not to mention my father will be here tonight. I need you guys to go. I don’t want any of you to get hurt.” I turned to Tavian. “Please understand that this is the best option.”

  Tavian stared at me for a minute and then nodded. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

  “Tavian, you cannot be serious!” Sarah exclaimed.

  “I am serious, luv. If Sophia thinks this is the best way, then we will respect that. I’ll figure out a way to get Dante out of here. When do you want us gone?”

  “Tonight. We’ll be performing the ceremony at dusk. My father will be here soon.”

  “Fine,” Sarah said in a resigned voice. “But what are you going to do?”

  “She plans to claim the town,” Enoch answered for me.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means the supernatural rules of Maldera Spring will be forever altered. Your town will belong to Sophia, and its people will be marked as her property. Most importantly, no vampire will be able to enter a private dwelling without invitation,” Enoch informed them. “Sophia will be forever –”

  “E, that’s enough,” I cut him off. “They don’t need to know the details of the ceremony.”

  Tavian eyes studied me suspiciously but he didn’t ask anything else.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Dusk had fallen and Adelaide and I were at the fourth point on the map. Enoch had gone to meet father and Tavian had headed out of town with Sarah and Dante. Adelaide was busy saying the spell in a tongue I didn’t understand as I poured the potion. We moved to the fifth point and she completed the spell. Now all we needed was Enoch and father. That’s when I felt a tingle down my spine and the hair on the back of my neck prickled. I recognized the power that animated the air around us.

  “It’s Irad. Go Adelaide. Get Enoch,” I hollered. I spun to face him as he came gracefully out of the tree line.

  Adelaide didn’t waste time arguing. She knew the only way she could help was to go get backup for me.

  “Sophia.” He said my name with menace and a dangerous glint in his eyes.

  “Irad, what are you doing here?”

  “Hunter called me a few days ago, said he picked up your scent. I never heard from him again, so I came to check things out for myself. It seems things are very strange in this little town. So tell me, Sophia, where is Hunter?” he growled.

  “I killed him after he attacked me.”

  “Yes, I figured that. Seems I must kill someone important to you to make us even. He was one of my best soldiers.” He sniffed the air. “Dante Baikov, you reek of him. He’s headed this way now.”

  My heart sank a little. “What are you talking about?”

  “Mr. Baikov received a message that you needed to see him, not far from here. In fact, I imagine he’s waiting for you.” Irad’s fangs lengthened past his lower lip as he gave me a depraved smile.

  “Don’t do this, Irad!”

  “I’ll do as I must.”

  My cell phone rang just as Irad turned and ran off. It was Tavian.

  “Tavian, tell me that Dante’s with you.”

  “No, he got your message and said he needed to meet you at the springs. What’s going on?”

  My heart truly dropped then. Everything was falling apart.

  “It wasn’t me, it was Irad. Where are you?”

  “I’m with Sarah.”

  “You need to hide her, but don’t take her home…take her to Rachel’s, then meet me at the springs.” I was telling him all of this as I raced after Irad.

  When I broke through the tree line, I screamed. Irad had his fangs buried deeply in Dante’s neck. Dante’s eyes flickered to me with only a little life running through them.

  “No,” he rasped.

  Irad pulled away from Dante’s neck to give me a self-satisfied smile and then savagely bit him again.

  I picked up more speed as I felt my body begin to shift. I leapt in the air as I reached Irad. He threw Dante’s lifeless body aside just in time to see me change. Only this time I wasn’t a harmless house cat. Shock briefly took me over as I felt the sinewy muscle under my dark black pelt. I had become a massive black panther.

  “For the love of Cain, how?” he howled.

  Like father, like daughter, I thought darkly.

  I went straight for him, warring with my deep desire to run to Dante’s side. My canines sank deep in Irad’s neck. I felt his blood rush freely from the wound. My claws raked against his flesh, leaving five long, deep cuts across his chest. I thrashed my head left and right, only releasing my hold on his neck when I felt his flesh tear in my mouth. It wouldn’t kill him but he wouldn’t heal instantly, not with the amount of damage I had caused him.

  “It’s not over, Sophia!” he hissed as he backed away from me, holding his neck.

  I bared my teeth and growled at him. He turned and ran off, with a guttural roar from me to encourage him to keep running. I shifted back and ran to Dante’s side. He hadn’t moved since Irad had tossed him aside, and vampires could die if they were drained completely.

  Please…Please let him be okay.

  I pulled the knife from my jean’s pocket and sliced a long, deep cut across my wrist. I cradled Dante’s head in my lap and pressed the wound to his lips.

  “Drink. Damn it, Dante, come on drink,” I yelled at him through the tears streaming down my face.

  Nothing, nothing was happening.

  I pressed my wrist harder against his lips and bent my forehead down to his as the tears streamed down my cheeks. My shoulders heaved as I sobbed over him.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  A twitch of Dante lips brought reality back to me. I felt a pull as he sucked deeper on the wound at my wrist.

  “Oh thank god, drink…it’s going to be okay, Dante. I’m so sorry.” I brushed his hair back from his face and kissed his forehead softly.

  “Sophia!”

  My attention was jerked away from Dante and to Tavian and…Sarah, as they ran towards me, Sarah falling behind slightly as Tavian darted at the sight of his brother.

  “What is she doing here?” I demanded frantically.

  “She’s stubborn, you know that. She wouldn’t let me drop her off. What happened?”

  “Irad already had him by the time I got here.” I swallowed back the tears. “But he’s going to be fine. I’m so sorry, Tavian. I never should have come here. I led them right to you guys.”

  “Stop it! This is not your fault. Are you hurt? You’re covered in blood… Where’s Irad?”

  “He ran, after I attacked him.”

  “He ran? He’s a Second Generation vampire. I don’t care how good you are, you shouldn’t still be alive. Is that all his blood?”

  “Yeah,” with a wry laugh and a sniffle I continued, “apparently, I can shift into something a bit more dangerous than a house cat.”

  Sarah reached us and gasped. “Jesus, is he okay?” she asked as she dropped to her knees next to us.

  “He’ll be fine. I need you guys to take him home. He probably needs more blood and I need to finish the ritual.”

  Sarah took my spot supporting Dante’s head. I staggered slightly as I stood.

  “How much blood did you drain into him?” Tavian asked as he steadied me.

  I blinked through my blackening vision. “Uh…about a pint.”

  “You need blood, Sophia.” His fangs extended and he bit his wrist and held it out to me. “Take it; you need your strength if you intend to end this.”

  Sharing blood could be a very intimate experience when taken directly from its host. I felt a little weird, but he was right. I needed it. I took Tavian’s arm and drank deeply for a few good gulps.
/>   “Thanks. Now go home. I’ll call you in a little while and don’t let him leave the house.”

  I made it back to the southern-most point of our ceremonial pentagram. But there was no one around. I pulled out my cell and called Enoch.

  “E, is Adelaide with you?”

  “Yes, she’s safe. I have father too. We should arrive in a few minutes.”

  “Okay good –” I twirled towards the draw of power to my right… I had company. “Irad’s here with Neko, Jerome, and Kara. Hurry please,” I pleaded.

  “Sophia, do not engage them,” Enoch ordered.

  “It’s too late…Irad’s going to kill me. E, I gotta go.”

  “Sophia! Sophia!” I heard Enoch yell my name faintly as my cell phone fell from my hand.

  “You’re right. I’m done with you, child, you’ve embarrassed me enough. But first, I think Kara might want a piece of you.”

  The beautiful vampires’ perfectly sculpted eyebrows rose. “And why is that, Irad?” she asked smoothly.

  “Do you not smell him on her? She’s been consorting with Dante Baikov. Haven’t you, Sophia?”

  Kara’s features hardened as her eyes darkened. “Have you been with my Dante? Mmm…you do smell of that rich, intoxicating man. You must remember that he’s mine,” she snarled.

  “He doesn’t want you anymore! It’s been a century, Kara, can’t you find a new man?” I snapped back at her.

  “Oh, you are a stupid child, aren’t you? He’ll always want me, always. And you will pay for playing with what is mine.”

  She dashed in front of me, inhaling deeply. “But it’s not just Dante,” She laughed low and throatily. “You reek of Tavian too. Both brothers… my, my, Sophia, look at you. You’ve turned into a little vixen, but you smell of something else as well…the Ancestor?”

  I dared a glance at Irad; his eyes had darkened. He hadn’t realized Sarah was here. Hunter hadn’t told him. I had showered after her and Tavian had left my home and Irad had come straight after me. He didn’t know about Sarah.

  “Where is she, Sophia?” he asked in a deep, venomous tone.

  “Safe, away from you, let it go. You’re not proving anything by eliminating Abel’s line, don’t you see that?”

  “Don’t you get it? I intend to send her to Abel after I turn her and then kill her. It will be the last and final act against his family, to free ours. Did you know that they used to hunt us? Millennia ago, they were the first slayers. They stopped after many of them perished in their pursuit to destroy our kind. Three generations back they went into hiding when they were down to only two. Have you ever wondered why Abel’s line has been carried by women?” He sneered, “Because of our species one weakness; lust and desire. We’re sexual creatures, Sophia; you know that. It’s something Ash tried to make you understand. There’s nothing more desirable than a beautiful woman. Abel’s line carries a lush scent; one that has sent many of our kind to their permanent graves.”

  “Slayers aren’t real,” I said in disbelief.

  He laughed. “OF COURSE THEY ARE! And they threaten our species. They need to be eliminated.”

  “But she’s not…she’s compassionate, caring, and she accepts vampires. She’s not a threat and she’s not a fighter.”

  “She may not have trained, but she’s stronger and faster than a normal human. It’s bred in her.”

  I thought back to the past months I’d been watching and spending time with her. I had noticed she was fast and she was strong for her petite stature, but I had never thought anything of it.

  “If it’s true, Irad, she has no desire to come after us.”

  “I DON’T CARE!” he roared “WHERE IS SHE?”

  “I won’t tell you.”

  “Then Kara shall beat it out of you,” Irad snarled.

  “With pleasure,” she purred.

  I squared myself to her, ready for an all-out brawl. Kara lunged for me, but I sidestepped her attack and spun behind her. With a roundhouse kick, I sent her flying forward. Kara spun around and leapt at me again, except this time she went for my legs, sweeping them out from underneath me. Instead of scrambling to keep upright, I let myself fall to my back. When Kara jumped to land on me, I kicked out, using her momentum and the force of my legs to send her tumbling behind me. I kip flipped to my feet and went after her.

  “You’ve been keeping up on your training, impressive, but it’s not going to be enough.”

  She came at me again. This time she landed a destructive blow to my cheekbone. I heard it crack. The side of my face, and probably my eye too, would be bruised. She didn’t waste time gloating over the punch. She swung with her right hand again and I feinted to my right at the same time; she missed me and caught herself after spinning in a half circle. I snaked in my pocket and grabbed my knife, plunging it in her back.

  Shit, I missed her heart, although it would be a miracle if Kara actually had one.

  She scrambled to remove the knife as I kicked her in the midsection as hard as I possibly could. She flew back twenty feet or so, landing on her perfect bubbly ass. Irad decided to join the fight then, grabbing my arms and jerking them behind my back. I didn’t have time to act before he slammed his fangs into my neck, drawing in my blood with arrogant fulfillment.

  “ENOUGH, let her go Irad!” Enoch’s voice was like a warm blanket on a very, very, cold day. I felt relief as my body sagged from the blood loss.

  The things that happened next all happened with me merely registering what was going on. Irad’s body flew about a hundred yards as mine fell into Enoch’s arms. His wrist was at my mouth pouring blood into me only seconds later. Real awareness began to return as Irad’s harsh voice rang out against Enoch.

  “You dare raise a hand to me, brother, over her?”

  “You have been warned many times that you are not to hurt her. I should have put a stop to your actions against her a long time ago, but I had always hoped you’d come to your senses and learn to accept her. I never wanted to choose between my brother and my sister, but enough is enough. Sophia has claimed this town and therefore the people in it, including the ancestor. Father has come to sanctify it.”

  “She can’t claim this town; she’s not a vampire.”

  “No, she is better than any vampire and she carries the pure blood of Cain. I gave her my blood as well. And once this blood claim is completed, she will be stronger and, as always, wiser than all of us.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The howling growl that came from Irad was one of the most terrifying noises I’d ever heard. Though as Enoch let go of me to combat Irad’s attack, none of the other vampires with him moved. No one was foolish enough to disobey Enoch, no matter how mad it made Irad.

  “Stop this, my sons,” My father’s voice echoed and thickened the air around us. “I will not have one of you carrying the burden of the others death for the rest of time.”

  Irad stopped and he, Enoch, and the other vampires bowed at my father’s approach. I, however, was still lying on the ground, so no bowing from me.

  “My daughter,” my father said as he came to my side. “Enoch got here just in time; his blood has healed your wounds, though not all of them. Do you require further healing?”

  I absentmindedly felt my neck; there was a slow trickle of slick, wet blood. I reached up and felt my cheek…yep, still broken.

  “No Father, I will heal the rest of the way on my own. Thank you for coming.”

  “I fear I should have interfered sooner. I had hoped my children would come to appreciate each other’s differences, and therefore learn to understand one another. Enoch has informed me of your desire to save Sarah and to place a blood claim on this town.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Sophia, you understand that with this claim comes a great deal of responsibility; you must stay here as long as you wish to claim this town and for no less than a decade. You will acquire a sixth sense when it comes to this town and its people. You will feel when one of its citizens is harmed su
pernaturally. Any vampire seeking to take blood from an unwilling donor will taste your blood and know instantly that you have claim over these people. No vampire will be able to enter the home of a human without invitation. The rules will not ever change as long as you maintain residence here, but your powers over the town will grow with time. Some will be wonderful gifts and others will be painful lessons, either way you will be irrevocably changed. Are you sure this is what you desire, my child?”

  “I see no other way, Father, and I wish to stay here. I have friends here and I want them kept safe.”

  “Then it shall be done. Adelaide, please join us.”

  Adelaide came to stand by me. She chanted a few more words as she slit my palm. She called Enoch over and slit his palm as well. We pressed out palms together as our blood mixed and dropped onto the ground. The earth around us began to glow.

  My father took the knife and sliced his hand. “By my blood, the blood of Cain, I consecrate this blood claim.”

  His blood hit the ground over the mixture of Enoch’s and mine. Lightning shot up and arched overhead; looking up at the night sky there was a perfect pentagram over the town.

  “Wow,” I breathed. “I wonder what the enquirer would say about that,” I said low to Enoch.

  “Only the supernatural can see it,” he smiled as he whispered back.

  “It is done, Daughter.”

  I gave one short nod. “Thank you, Father.”

  “Now, as for the rest of you,” he turned his attention to Irad and his followers, “you will take your leave of this town. Irad, you are banished from Maldera Spring until Sophia and I see fit to let you come back. The rest of you may return, but I suggest you give it some time.”