Darkness Rises

Chapter 10

Krysta listened carefully and tried to memorize every name and face as Étienne introduced her and Sean to the group. It was a relief to see other humans present. Or gifted ones. She wasn’t sure how to tell those apart. But she could tell by their auras that there were almost as many mortals present as there were immortals.

Her gaze slid to Seth, whose aura glowed that brilliant white, then to David, whose aura did the same, but had a tiny sliver of purple mixed in. The other immortals had a pretty equal mix of white and purple.

She looked at the small redhead—Ami?—who sat beside Seth. Her aura was unlike anyone else’s. It contained the same color variations of humans and gifted ones, but had little sparkly things in it, as if the stars in the night sky were peeking through a rainbow. It was beautiful and very peculiar. What was she?

Seth and David’s auras were different because . . .

Actually, she wasn’t sure. Was it because they were so old? Or were there other supernatural beings? Étienne seemed sure they were immortals, yet . . .

Those auras.

“Let’s begin,” Seth said when the roll call of names ended.

Chris cleared his throat. “Before we get started, there’s an issue we need to discuss.”

Seth motioned for Chris to continue. “What’s on your mind, Chris?”

Chris’s gaze circled the table. “My goal is the same as the network’s: To protect you. It’s why I scrutinize so carefully every member of the network before hiring him or her. It’s why every Second is handpicked. If even one person leaks the truth to the media, in this information age in particular, it is hell to clean up and counter. Every year, with every new gadget and fucking cell phone with apps that can realign the damned planets, it gets harder. We can’t afford to make a single mistake.”

“What’s your point?” Ethan asked.

“My point is I can’t protect you if you keep hiding your girlfriends from me.”

Every eye swung toward Krysta.

She glanced around. “Why is everyone looking at me?”

Silence.

“Oh. Oh, no. I’m not Étienne’s girlfriend. We just . . . hunt together . . . sort of. It’s not like we’re dating or . . . We haven’t slept together or anything . . . I mean we slept together . . . twice, actually . . . but we didn’t—”

“You aren’t helping,” Étienne murmured.

She clamped her lips shut. What a time to find out she babbled when she was nervous.

“He has a point,” Roland spoke. “Étienne hid this woman from us—”

“The woman has a name,” Krysta interjected.

“—and Richart hid both Jenna and her son from us. Every mortal is a potential threat.”

Chris frowned. “Says the immortal who threatened to kill me if I went anywhere near Sarah when you two got together.”

“That was different.”

“How?”

“You’ve all said it a thousand times. I’m an untrusting, antisocial bastard.”

“No, you aren’t,” Sarah protested and glared at the others. “Stop saying that.”

Roland continued. “Anyone who can win my trust deserves it. Besides, she saved my ass. Twice.”

“Technically,” Krysta said, “I saved Étienne’s ass.”

“After I risked it to save you.”

“That’s true. I thanked you for that, right?”

Chris waved his hands. “It doesn’t matter who saved whose ass. The point is every mortal poses a threat. Especially now. If you don’t let me interro—ah, interview these women, you place everyone in danger, because sooner or later someone always trusts the wrong person.”

“True,” Seth murmured.

“Ah hah!” Richart blurted at the same time. “You were going to say interrogate! I knew it! That’s why I kept Jenna a secret!”

Chris swore beneath his breath as Roland and Étienne both nodded. “Okay, maybe, in the past, I might have been a tad harsh when ensuring that an immortal’s lover could be trusted. But can you blame me? Look what happened to Mattheus.”

“Who the hell is Mattheus?” Roland grumbled.

“Mattheus got screwed?” Tracy said. “That sucks. He’s so hot.”

“Who’s Mattheus?” Sheldon seconded.

“He’s an immortal from Brazil,” Chris said. “His mortal lover, whom he thought was completely trustworthy, videotaped them having sex—”

“Awesome!” Sheldon interjected with a grin.

Everyone looked at him.

“What? I like porn.”

Still they stared.

He frowned. “I have to give up booze, parties, and porn? Can’t a Second have any vices?”

Chris sighed. “Anyway. She videotaped them having sex and intended to auction it off to news outlets once it had been authenticated by an expert who would swear the glowing eyes, fangs, and . . . ah . . . unusual speed and other things demonstrated were not special effects produced by a post-production house.”

“Maybe they were,” Sheldon suggested somberly. “Maybe she was out to discredit him. I think we should all watch it and—”

“The tape has been destroyed,” Seth cut in.

“Damn.” Sheldon slumped down in his seat.

Chris met Richart’s gaze. “Anytime you want me to get rid of him . . .”

Richart shook his head. “He amuses me.”

“Chris does have a point,” Seth said, returning to the subject at hand.

At the opposite end of the table, David nodded. “We have seen it countless times. This is a lonely existence that can sometimes drive us to trust where we should not.”

“Chris,” Seth continued, “perhaps if you allowed the immortal to be present when you met with his lover, he would no longer feel wary of your possible treatment of her.”

“Or him,” Lisette tossed in.

Étienne raised his eyebrows.

“What? I can’t date?”

“Fine,” Chris said. “If any of you acquire a lover with whom you wish to share the truth, you can be present when I meet with her. But I do need to meet with her. Or him. If you’d consent to a telepath being present or listening in from the next room, all the better.”

When no one spoke, Seth spoke for them. “They’ll take it into consideration.” The casual words carried the weight of an order. “Is that all, Chris?”

“For now, yes.”

Seth turned to Étienne. “So?”

“So?” he repeated.

David leaned forward and braced his elbows on the table. “Tell us what happened last night.”

Étienne hesitated. He wasn’t sure how to tell them without explaining Krysta’s role in it. And he thought it best to minimize that as much as possible.

No one seemed to have caught her reference to their hunting together. They had all been too titillated by the idea that he had been hiding away a girlfriend.

Which, as she had pointed out, was not to say that Krysta was his girlfriend.

You’re rambling, David spoke in his head.

Étienne shot him a glance. Much to his surprise, the elder immortal seemed amused. No, I’m not.

Yes, you are, Seth said.

Is everyone listening to my thoughts? he demanded with exasperation. His barriers were usually stronger than that.

No, just us, David answered.

Go ahead and tell them what happened, Seth advised. We’ve already gleaned it.

Étienne leaned forward and braced his elbows on the table. “I was out hunting with Krysta—”

“Wait,” Chris interrupted. “You two really do hunt together?”

Étienne looked at Krysta, who shrugged. “In a manner of speaking.”

Chris threw up his hands. “Okay. Another point of business. Most of the immortals at this table are at least a hundred years old, so I didn’t think I had to remind any of you of this, but you cannot recruit your own Seconds. All Seconds must be assigned by the network, which thoroughly vets and trains them. What the hell, Étienne?”

Now Krysta leaned forward. “I’m not a Second.”

Before everyone could start bitching at once, Étienne held up a hand. “Krysta came to my attention a couple of weeks ago. I was out hunting and saw several vampires tracking her with the clear intention of preying upon her. Much to my surprise, however, the vampires turned out to be the prey. Krysta is a vampire hunter.”

“No way!” Sheldon blurted.

Étienne scowled at him. “As soon as I realized this, I began to follow her.” As swiftly as possible, he caught them up on his adventures with Krysta.

“No wonder you’ve been so distracted,” Lisette said, studying Krysta curiously.

Marcus frowned. “By vampire hunter you mean . . . ?”

“She hunts vampires. She lures them into traps, then dispatches them.”

“That’s impossible,” Ethan said.

Krysta stiffened. “Then I’ve been doing the impossible for six years.”

Disbelieving stares.

“Mortals can’t defeat vampires in battle,” Edward said.

“This one can,” Krysta insisted.

“Ami can,” Sheldon pointed out.

“Melanie could, when she was mortal,” Bastien added with a proud smile.

“But Ami and Melanie didn’t take them on alone,” Ethan said. “They fought by Marcus’s and Bastien’s sides.”

Marcus leaned forward and caught Ethan’s eye. “Ami wasn’t fighting by my side when she kicked your ass in that sparring session. And you’re faster than a vampire.”

Sheldon laughed. “Burn!”

Seth sighed. “We’re getting off topic here. I’ve examined Krysta’s thoughts. She has indeed been hunting vampires for the past six years with the help of her brother. And, before you ask, neither of them are members of the mercenary groups who keep troubling us. Her gift gives her an edge”—he held up a hand to stay him when Ethan opened his mouth again—“which I will not disclose. If Krysta wants you to know, she’ll tell you herself.”

Ethan stared at Krysta. A teasing gleam entered his eyes, making Étienne narrow his own as his hackles rose. Offering Krysta a flirtatious grin, Ethan said, “I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours.”

In a heartbeat, Étienne drew a dagger and threw it.

The hilt struck Ethan right in the center of his forehead, snapping his head back. “Ow! Shhhhit! What the hell, man?”

Krysta gaped up at Étienne, who squirmed as everyone at the table stared at him.

He cleared his throat, but didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t really meant to do that. He had just reacted.

“Oh yeah,” Sheldon said. “He has fallen and he has fallen hard.”

Snickers and head shakes all around.

“Merde.”

David held up a hand and called for quiet. “Please continue, Étienne.”

Eager to change the subject (Why did it seem to return so often to his being smitten with Krysta?), he told them about defeating the vampires, then being set upon by mercenaries.

No one reprimanded him for not getting the hell out of there as soon as he saw that first tranquilizer dart. That’s what they were supposed to do to avoid capture, but all understood his desire to protect Krysta.

Cam leaned forward and braced his elbows on the table, his attention on Krysta and Sean. “Thank you. You don’t know what they would have done to him if they had gotten their hands on him. If these are the same people we dealt with before—”

“I don’t see how they can be,” Melanie interrupted. “That threat was neutralized.”

Étienne shook his head. “These soldiers were very reminiscent of the others.” He related the events that followed at Krysta and Sean’s home.

A steady stream of curses and exclamations of disbelief accompanied him.

Marcus looked ready to snap, his fury fairly heating the room. “How the hell is this possible?”

Chris shook his head. “It must be a different group.”

“They have the fucking tranquilizer!” he shouted.

Ami placed a hand on his arm.

Étienne understood Marcus’s rage. The last mercenary group had included some of the monsters who had tortured Ami. And they had been eager as hell to get their hands on her again.

Cam shook his head. “We must have missed something.”

Seth shook his head. “We didn’t. Every mercenary who knew of our existence was either killed or had their memories wiped. And David and I saw to the latter ourselves.”

David nodded. “Darnell worked tirelessly with the network’s techno-geeks to expunge all mention of us, of vampires, and of Ami from their computers and servers.”

“And replaced it with malware,” Darnell added. “There’s no way they could recover those files. I couldn’t even recover those files.”

“And yet,” Roland said, “Étienne was tranqed and attacked by humans garbed as soldiers.”

“Could they be military?” Sarah asked, brow furrowed. “Could Emrys have gone to the military without our knowledge?”

Seth shook his head. “I would have seen it in his thoughts.”

“Donald and Nelson didn’t either,” David mentioned before anyone could ask.

Donald was the leader of the elite Private Military Company Emrys had drawn into his war with the immortals near the end. Nelson was Donald’s second in command or yes-man. Because their company was widely known by the public, killing the two men would have raised too many questions, so their memories had been erased instead and a story concocted—something about a couple of transport planes colliding in a freak accident—to explain the deaths of the soldiers slain by the immortals.

“So where does that leave us?” Cam asked.

Seth shook his head. “Without an explanation.”

Krysta studied the men and women seated around the table in the grim hush that followed.

She glanced at Sean to see how he was taking all of this.

Suspicion had fled his face and been replaced by the same fascination she suspected lit her own. This was amazing. She didn’t know what she had expected, but it hadn’t been this.

They were like a big family. They teased. They bantered. They got snippy with each other, like when Étienne had tossed his dagger at Ethan.

That had been too funny. And rather revealing. Étienne’s eyes had actually glowed with jealousy. How cool was that?

Sean shifted slightly. “How did the mercenaries find out about you before?” he asked, surprising her. She had sensed he was relaxing into the situation, but hadn’t thought he had relaxed enough to participate in the conversation.

David answered. “The brother of a vampire we slew told them, enlisting their aid in his quest for vengeance.”

“Could something similar have happened this time?”

Seth shook his head. “It was the first time in history that such had occurred. Because of the madness that plagues them, vampires tend to either kill or transform relatives they bring into the loop. And most vampires think the only thing that differentiates us is immortals’ unwillingness to kill innocents, or to let them do it. Because we don’t fraternize, vampires often don’t realize how much longer immortals live or know that we differ genetically. This human male was in a unique position to learn this information.”

Everyone shifted their gaze to a man at the opposite end of the table who sat with his arm around a pretty brunet. Krysta thought his name was Bastien, but was having trouble keeping up.

As her own attention was drawn that way, she noticed for the third or fourth time that the forbidding immortal across from Sheldon was staring at her.

Roland? Was that his name?

Krysta didn’t know what it was about him, but he unnerved her more than anyone else present. He just seemed menacing. Like he could slit your throat, then sit down, prop his feet on your corpse, and eat a sandwich.

Uneasy, she looked up at Étienne. “Who else could be in a unique position to share this information?”

He shook his head. “No one.”

“Bullshit,” Roland growled.

Étienne frowned. “No one at this table would betray us.”

“I wasn’t thinking of someone at this table,” he intoned. “We all know the mercenaries’ goal. At least the goal of those we fought before. They know vampires swiftly lose their mental faculties and immortals don’t. They need to capture one of us so they can torture and dissect us and figure out why. Once they do, they intend to use the virus and whatever information they can glean from us to create an army of supersoldiers they can hire out to the highest bidder.”

“Oh, shit,” Sean breathed. “They could make billions.”

David nodded. “And wreak havoc upon the world. No human army could stand against an army of immortals. Or a more expendable army of vampires.”

“Why expendable?” Sean questioned.

“Any human soldiers they intentionally infected with the virus would have to be slain a year later to ensure their leaders could maintain control.”

One year? “The madness kicks in that fast?” Krysta asked. No wonder she had never encountered a sane or non-murderous vampire.

“It varies from human to human and can be accelerated by things like poor living conditions or torture,” David explained. “Sometimes vampires begin to lose impulse control and experience psychotic breaks six months after infection. Sometimes, if they are extraordinarily strong, they can have three or four years before lucidity abandons them. Since the change can be insidious and difficult to detect in the beginning, the mercenary leaders would have to limit the lifespan of their soldiers in order to prevent chaos and collateral damage.”

Damn. Krysta wondered how that would work. Would the soldiers volunteer to be infected? Would they even understand what they would be infected with? Would they know, going in, that they would be killed a year later? Or would that caveat be kept from them?

“I think we all know what happened,” Roland spoke again, “why mercenaries have risen against us once more.”

“Not really,” Étienne said.

Several others nodded. They truly seemed baffled.

Roland shook his head. “Isn’t it obvious? Someone at the network betrayed us.”

Chris slammed a hand down on the table. “Bullshit!”

Krysta jumped.

Unperturbed, Roland returned his irate stare. “One of your mortal pets decided a billion dollars in his bank account sounded pretty damned good and sold us out. Probably one of your techno-geeps.”

“Geeks,” his wife murmured, chewing her lower lip.

“Fuck you, Roland! My people are handpicked and loyal to the core. You have no reason to doubt them beyond your massive paranoia and I’m sick of you trying to dump that shit on my doorstep!”

Roland’s eyes flashed amber.

Krysta’s heartbeat picked up nervously.

Étienne reached across her lap and rested a hand on the thigh farthest from him as though readying himself to sweep her behind him if all hell broke loose.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Sean palm a dagger under the table.

Oh, crap.

Roland leaned forward. “I doubt everyone because of what you call my massive paranoia. Experience has taught me that even those I trust the most could stab me in the back. And have. However, I doubt your people and think them responsible for this new threat because it is the only plausible explanation. No one else knew. No one else could gain access to the tranquilizer, of which you keep a substantial supply at network headquarters. A network employee or employees, therefore, must be responsible.”

Judging by the looks of things, Roland wasn’t the only one present who thought so now that he had suggested it.

Chris was furious. “That isn’t the only explanation. Maybe one of the memory wipes didn’t work.”

“The memory wipes worked,” Seth said. “Had Étienne or Lisette handled the memories, then I would be concerned.”

Krysta looked at Étienne, who shrugged. I told you there were limits to my telepathic abilities. I am only a couple hundred years old.

Uh-huh. Just a couple, she thought back to him. A veritable infant.

His lips twitched. But he kept his hand on her thigh and didn’t relax.

“However, David and I handled it,” Seth continued. “Any memories we bury never see the light of day again.”

Jenna slowly raised a hand.

Seth smiled. “Yes, Jenna?”

“I’m confused. Do you erase the memories or bury them?”

“We bury them. Truly wiping them or erasing them can cause brain damage and scarring.”

“Oh.”

Roland leaned back. “And thus my point is proven.”

“Well,” Chris said, “we must have missed something on the technical side. A laptop or a DVD or an exterior hard drive one of the mercenaries took home.”

David shook his head. “We searched their minds before we buried the pertinent memories. If someone so much as wrote themselves a note on a napkin and took it home with them, we found it and destroyed it.”

Even though Étienne thought Chris wanted to interrogate her, Krysta actually found herself feeling sorry for him. The blond looked both furious and crushed at the idea that one of his own people may have strayed from the fold.

“Look into it,” Seth told him. “It’s the most logical hypothesis. Someone at the network must have taken information to another mercenary group and sold them the tranquilizer. Narrow down the possibilities.”

Stone-faced, Chris nodded.

“Seconds,” David said, “make sure your immortals have an ample supply of the antidote and don’t let them leave the house without it.”

The mortals around the table nodded.

Seth leaned back. “Immortals, start carrying your infrared goggles and scopes again and check periodically for heat signatures in shadows even your acute vision cannot penetrate. If you are struck with a dart, get the hell out of there and call your Second. The younger immortals among us should consider returning to hunting in pairs. For now, I leave the decision up to you. That will change if another mercenary attack ensues.”

Bastien cleared his throat. “We should also step up our attempts to recruit vampires.”

“What?” Krysta blurted, then flushed when everyone looked at her.

“The ones who have not yet entirely lost their sanity,” he clarified. “We can’t risk the mercenaries getting their hands on the virus by capturing a vampire, so we must convince the vampires we’re the lesser of two evils and see if we can’t bring them over to our side.”

“Why don’t you just kill them all?” she asked. No way in hell would she partner with a freaking vampire.

Marcus smiled. “I like this woman.”

Roland nodded.

Bastien shook his head. “The point is to have them spread the word to the other vampires that they should do everything they can to stay out of the hands of the human mercenaries. We can’t let the soldiers get their hands on the virus.”

Seth nodded. “Do it. I know you don’t like it, but vampires outnumber us and could be a valuable tool we could use to thwart our new enemies. Recruit those you can. Kill the rest. David, have you anything you wish to add?”

The other elder looked to Chris. “Only that I will make myself available anytime you wish me to examine the thoughts of network employees you think may be involved in this.”

Chris gave an abrupt nod.

“All right” Seth said. “Meeting adjourned. Safe hunting, everyone.”

Several mumbled a response.

Étienne’s hand on Krysta’s thigh relaxed.

“Étienne,” David said as they rose, “would you, Krysta, Sean, and Cameron join Seth, Chris, and I in my study?”

Krysta cursed inwardly. They had been that close to getting away unscathed.

“Of course,” Étienne responded.

Seth strode around the table, Chris on his heels, and joined David as he walked through the throng and crossed the living room.

Trying to ignore the stares she drew, Krysta peered through the black-clad bodies and glimpsed a wicker basket on the floor near one of the sofas.

Kittens?

The multicolored fur pile shifted, revealing a little triangle-shaped face.

Yes, kittens. In a house full of incredibly powerful men and women who instantly seemed less intimidating.

Well, everyone except Roland and the two elders.

She returned her gaze to Seth and David’s broad backs.

Following them to the study, she felt a bit like a child being called to the principal’s office. To distract herself she studied the elders’ auras.

So bright and beautiful. Almost mesmerizing.

You’re drooling, Étienne spoke in her mind.

Krysta detected a bit of rancor in his tone. What?

You can’t take your eyes off them.

It isn’t what you think. Their auras are different.

He rested a hand on her lower back. Different from what?

Different from yours. From mine. From vampires’. From humans’. I’ve never seen anything like it.

The two elders shared a look as they entered a darkened hallway.

Were they listening?

David and Seth paused before an open doorway and motioned for them to enter.

Étienne and Krysta proceeded inside, followed by Chris, Cameron, and Sean, then the elders. As Seth started to close the door, Darnell slipped inside.

Smiling, Seth closed the door.

Nice study. Books lined floor-to-ceiling shelves on every wall, and the room had ten- or twelve-foot ceilings. The little home she and Sean rented had ceilings that ranged from eight feet to a mere six and a half. These men wouldn’t even be able to stand upright in her kitchen, so she imagined they appreciated the extra headroom here.

Potted plants abounded, filling the room with color. A massive desk had been planted close enough to the large windows to allow anyone seated in the chair behind it to benefit from the natural light without sitting directly in it. Five chairs faced the desk. Two looked as though they had been there for years. Three more appeared to be new additions, probably added for this little get-together.

Some distance away, a smaller desk resided, something vaguely feminine in its appearance.

As they all congregated near the large desk, she waited anxiously to see what would happen. Would the interrogation Étienne feared begin now? Would they threaten her? Threaten Sean? Bury their memories of all of this?

Did they think her in league with the mercenaries? She had killed two of them. Didn’t that count for anything and show where her loyalties lay?

Wait. Was she saying she was loyal to the immortals?

She thought about everything she had learned at the meeting and from her time with Étienne.

Hell. Why not? They seemed like good guys.

Seth and David smiled.

Seth held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Krysta.”

“Oh.” She took it. And, wow, was it large. Her own hand looked like a child’s in his. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

He covered their clasped hands with his other hand. Her own heated with a tingling warmth that swept up her arm and rippled through her body.

She gasped. “What just happened?”

He patted her hand, then released her and shook Sean’s hand. “I healed your injuries,” he said as he stepped back.

She looked at Sean, whose eyes widened.

“Just like that?” Sean asked.

Seth nodded. “The older the immortal, the stronger his or her gifts.”

Beside him, David smiled. “The two of us have lived so long and seen so much that very little surprises us.”

“You two surprised us,” Seth admitted. “We are very impressed with your successes and all that you have accomplished.”

“Really?” She had been more impressed herself before she had found out that they hadn’t even made a dent in the vampire population.

“Mortal vampire hunters, particularly those who hunt alone or in small numbers, have traditionally had very short careers. The fact that you have been doing what you do for six years now and still possess all of your limbs is nothing short of extraordinary.”

“Please,” David said, “have a seat.”

Krysta and Sean took the two chairs in the middle. Étienne sat beside Krysta with Cam on his other side. Chris sat beside Sean. Darnell carried another chair from the corner over and placed it beside David, who took the chair behind the desk. Seth sat beside him.

Darnell stood beside David.

“As I said earlier,” Seth began, “I am the leader of the Immortal Guardians. David is my Second in Command. We are the highest authorities in the Immortal Guardian world. We know you are both gifted ones. All immortals were gifted ones before being infected with the virus, so we hope you will consider us your brethren.”

David nodded. “It is how we think of you. As one of us. As family.”

That was not what she had expected. What were they saying exactly?

Seth smiled. “We would like you to join us.”

Sean looked at Krysta. “Are you saying you want to infect us with the virus?”

“Not necessarily. Because you are gifted ones, you can safely transform without suffering brain damage and losing your sanity. But it is not a requirement. Many mortals, both humans and gifted ones, work with us and aid us in our desire to eliminate the vampire threat.”

Krysta stared at them. “I’m sorry. I thought you were going to interrogate us or threaten us or castigate us for whatever wrong this one here”—she hooked a thumb in Chris’s direction—“imagines we’ve committed.”

Darnell laughed.

Chris sighed. “Had I met with you earlier today, I would have interviewed you.”

Darnell coughed. “Interrogated.”

Chris scowled. “But since Seth and David have cleared you and determined you aren’t a threat, that won’t be necessary and I would welcome you on our side.”

Krysta slid a look in Étienne’s direction. You’re being awfully quiet.

He arched a brow. This is your decision. I thought you wouldn’t appreciate my weighing in on it.

Do you think I should join you?

Hell, yes.

She returned her attention to the elders. “In what capacity?”

Seth looked to Reordon. “Chris?”

“Sean, since you’re a healer and are already studying medicine—”

“Do I even want to know how you know that?” he asked.

Chris shrugged. “Once I had your name, I traced you to Duke. And Seth told me you were a healer. Anyway, we could use someone with your gifts and knowledge in our medical department. Should you decide to join us, we will pay off all of the student loan debt you’ve accumulated.” Which was considerable. “And pay all future tuition. I’m sure Dr. Lipton, the immortal woman who sat beside me at the table, would be happy to mentor you and appreciate your aid in her pursuit of a cure or treatment for the virus.”

Krysta met her brother’s gaze and knew he was thinking the same thing she was.

It sounded incredibly good. Too good. What’s-the-catch good.

“We also,” Chris continued, “would immediately put you on the payroll, so you could quit your current job as early as tomorrow. I recommend that you do that anyway to ensure the mercenaries can’t trace you there as we did. Krysta, we’d like you to train as a Second. Your fighting skills already exceed the needs of the position, so we would—”

“Wait,” she interrupted. “A Second? Do they hunt vampires?”

“Not actively, no. They guard and assist the immortals who do and back them up whenever necessary.”

“I’m not giving up hunting.”

Étienne swore. “You would be accomplishing the same goal without subjecting yourself to so much risk.”

“I don’t care. I’m not giving up hunting,” she insisted stubbornly.

“Not even for a six-figure salary?” Chris asked.

Six figures? Really?

No. Despite the temptation, she couldn’t do it.

Sean shook his head. “Krys, don’t be stupid. This is perfect.”

“Perfect!” she exclaimed. “You still thought these people were our enemies and in league with the vampires an hour ago!”

“Well, clearly they aren’t,” he snapped. “And you can’t go on the way you have been. How many times have you nearly died in the past six years? In the past one or two? You’ve been coming up against larger and larger numbers and even admitted yourself that you would have been killed twice in the past month if Étienne hadn’t saved your ass!”

“Those were exceptions,” she protested, anger and panic rising. She couldn’t stop hunting vampires and just sit on the sidelines. Hunting was what she did. It was who she was.

Sean snorted. “Those exceptions nearly killed you.”

“I can’t stop hunting,” she insisted.

“You would still be contributing to the destruction of vampires,” he insisted. “You’d still be making a difference.”

“Not the way I want to.”

He clamped his lips shut, his face tightening in anger. “And when you’re mortally injured and I die healing you?” It had been her biggest fear all along. “It’s an even greater possibility now than ever before because you’re battling vampires and being hunted by mercenaries who are shooting at you,” he pressed.

She swallowed hard. “If I suffer a fatal injury, you’ll just have to let me go.”

“You know I won’t do that.”

She did. And it killed her to think that he would die for her.

Her eyes began to burn as her throat thickened. She had promised herself she wouldn’t stop hunting until the vampire threat had been eliminated. Not hunting would feel like giving up. She didn’t want to give up. She wasn’t ready to give up.

Étienne clear his throat. “She can hunt with me.”

The silence that followed was deafening.