"Well, it was certainly nice of you to ask if we had any laundry that needed doing," she spat, right after I said h.e.l.lo. Yeah, I should have asked-that would have been polite-but miss lily-white could do her own laundry as far as I was concerned. I wasn't getting paid for this trip. Not that I knew of, anyway. I was Pack and had been requested by the Grand Master. The Council had agreed so here I was.

"h.e.l.lo, Kellee, how are you?" I asked tiredly, instead of responding to her accusation. Glen was driving and he and Weldon were listening in on the conversation.

"All you had to do was ask. I have a bunch of things that need to be washed," Kellee was still spilling acid over the phone.

"Kellee, I didn't want to interrupt you and Winkler," I said, being as tactfully sarcastic as I could. Glen snickered.

"You could have phoned us, I'd have been glad to leave our things outside the door for you."

All right, that p.i.s.sed me off. Really. Even Weldon drew in a breath at the insult. I was nothing more than hired help to Kellee and I'm sorry to say I let my temper run away with me. "You know what, Kellee, if you'd get off your back once in a while, you could actually do some of these things for yourself. And if Winkler would stop thinking with his smaller brain for a few minutes, he could help. When are you going to tell him, Kellee? When are you going to tell him you're pregnant?"

As soon as it left my mouth, I slapped a hand over it, but it was already too late; I'd spilled what I'd known for two days. My sensitive nose had told me and now Winkler was going to pay through his own nose, whether he married her or not. At least he'd get a child out of it. I hoped Kellee wouldn't teach it to hold his father and the rest of the world in contempt like she did.

Glen had swerved the car and Weldon had his eyes glued on me over the back of his seat at the news. No doubt Winkler had been listening in on the whole conversation, his hearing was still fine as far as I could tell. "You don't know that!" Kellee started shouting over the phone. "How can you possibly know that? You're lying!"

"Nope, not lying," I said and terminated the call. Someday, maybe I'd learn to control myself-develop that stone face that every other vampire wore. Someday. Weldon's phone rang in seconds-it was Winkler calling. He wanted to pull over at the next available spot. We were coming up on a truck stop so both vehicles whipped into the parking lot. Kellee was crying when she got out of the car, Winkler was cursing and there I was, the cause of it all. No, I didn't get Kellee pregnant but I'd certainly spilled the beans.

Weldon took charge of the situation, thank goodness. We all trooped inside the truck stop after Weldon told Winkler to calm down and stop yelling and we all sat at a table off in a corner and ordered coffee.

"Now, Kellee, were you aware you were pregnant?" Weldon looked at her.

"I was only a few days late," she sniffed. She might get sympathy from Winkler and the others but I wasn't going to offer any. Winkler had probably done the deed when he laid her the first time. He wasn't even looking at me, which was fine, I guess. I hadn't been the one to tell him to screw her. I'd just driven her rental car to our hotel like an obedient little servant so he could take her with him in the SUV.

"Let's go buy a pregnancy test," Glen suggested. Weldon nodded. I had no idea what this meant in the werewolf world. Glen asked our waitress where the nearest pharmacy would be that stayed open late and she told us there was something in Espanola, only a few miles down the road. We paid for our coffee and left. Winkler was fidgeting and growling a little whenever Weldon wasn't looking as we waited outside the pharmacy restroom. Kellee came out with the little plastic thing in her hand and she was crying again. Winkler looked at it and said, "f.u.c.k." I kept my mouth shut this time and didn't point out that the word he'd just said was why he was in this fix to begin with.

"I'll contact her father tomorrow and make arrangements," Weldon said.

"Does this mean a shotgun wedding?" I asked Glen quietly a little later. Kellee was going up and down the brightly lit aisles of the pharmacy, buying an armload of tissues and other things. Winkler was frowning the entire time he followed her around and then paid for everything, of course.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Glen whispered back. "If her father had anyone picked out for her, there's compensation to be made. And now, because of the law, we'll have to put up with her until she has the second one." Glen wasn't looking forward to that, I could tell. I just patted his back in sympathy and headed toward the car. I didn't get any more phone calls during the rest of the trip into Taos, which was fine with me. I felt bad enough as it was.

"How did you know?" Weldon asked me later while he was preparing for bed.

"The smell," I said. "I knew Kathy Jo was pregnant, too, when she got married."

"You knew that," Weldon was turning it over in his mind. "We can smell it after a while, but it takes a little longer than this." He raked fingers through his hair.

I didn't tell him about the other things my nose told me. That I could tell who somebody's parent or parents were, whether they were human, vampire or werewolf. That I could sniff out their age, too. I had Weldon pegged around eighty or ninety. No wonder he liked that forty year-old woman. She was more than likely half his age. More power to her, in my opinion. Where do people get off telling others that love is only for the young and pretty? Everybody needs it. Everybody.

Kellee had a conversation with her father, as had Weldon. Kellee's dad was probably hopping with glee when he found out who'd gotten his little girl pregnant. Her dad was an important man in Boise, but Winkler was important everywhere. Kellee was in a better mood when we went to dinner with the new Packmaster and his Second that night. Winkler, on the other hand, hardly spoke at all. He came to find me later after Kellee was asleep.

"I shouldn't have let her call you," he said when we sat down in the hotel hallway outside Weldon's room with our backs to the wall. My knees were pulled up to my chest and I was leaning my chin on them.

"You'd have found out sooner or later," I said.

"Go ahead, call me an idiot," he sighed.

"No sense telling somebody something they already know," I muttered.

"Now we have to have two children, Lissa. I don't know if I can survive that. I was ready to send her home, she was getting so b.i.t.c.hy, and now this happens."

"Winkler, she would have been the last person I'd have picked for you," I said. "Leigh Williams would have been a great match for you. She was in love with somebody else but I get the idea that he's not the one she's going to get."

"Yeah. Maybe I f.u.c.ked this up all the way around. If Kellee hadn't been there, well..." he didn't finish his sentence.

"Kellee is a little on the imperious side and it will only get worse, I can almost guarantee it, Winkler. I hope you find some way to love her-something to love about her-because you're stuck now."

"I know. Lissa, in a perfect world, you and I," he left it hanging.

"We don't live in anything close to a perfect world, Winkler, remember?" I elbowed him a little. "Gavin isn't going to let me get away. That's all there is to it." I straightened up a little and fiddled with my engagement ring. It had probably cost a fortune; I couldn't find anything like it on the internet and the diamonds alone would be really expensive. I'd seen Kellee eyeing it on more than one occasion. There were times, especially when Gavin started cursing over the phone, that I would have gladly handed it off to her and walked away if I could. I couldn't. The Council would just declare me rogue again, hunt me down again and this time I would die. No question about that.

We talked a little more in the hallway before Winkler went back to Kellee. I was grateful I didn't have to see her sprawled all over his bed. I sighed, let myself into the Grand Master's room, picked up the novel I'd been reading (I can read just fine with little or no light at all) and resumed my guard duty.

Taos went like clockwork. Kellee even got to go skiing with the Packmaster and his wife. Winkler went too, during the day of course. Weldon and Glen begged off. Glen was developing a sense of humor, too, teasing me while I drank my meal after waking. "Gotta get those corpuscles," he'd say. I just swatted at him, put the blood I couldn't finish back in the cooler and went to clean up. Kellee still wasn't speaking to me, which was great as far as I was concerned. But if she caught Winkler looking anywhere near my direction, she made sure she got his attention, one way or the other.

We headed toward Santa Fe on Wednesday and my skin was already itching the minute they unzipped my bag on the way. What shocked me most, however, was what waited for me at the hotel. Merrill was there when we arrived.

He, Weldon and I went to the hotel restaurant where Merrill and I both ordered an obligatory meal. Merrill explained that he and the Council weren't taking any chances and that I would be left behind while Merrill performed vampire guard duty for the Grand Master during his stay in Santa Fe. To me, that meant they might be expecting trouble. I didn't care that Merrill had come to protect the Grand Master through this one because it worried me, too. And Merrill could put up with Kellee's pettiness while he was at it. Merrill had a room on another floor, but I was still keeping watch over the Grand Master at night for some reason. During the dinner and confirmation, Merrill would be there instead of me.

I leafed through pamphlets and tourist brochures while they went to dinner Thursday evening, wishing I had time to go out and visit some of the landmarks nearby. An old Adobe church had caught my eye, as had a few other things. Time had gotten away from me, too, and I realized (with a bit of shock) that it was February eighteenth, a month and a half after the anniversary of my turning and my husband Don's death. I didn't know what to think at first, before going to my laptop and powering it up, thinking I might be able to order flowers and arrange to have them delivered to Don's grave or something. There is actually a service that will do just that for you. Go figure. I ordered an arrangement, paid with my credit card and then answered email. Franklin had sent something so I wrote a quick answer and sent it. Then I amused myself, watching a little television and reading until they all came back from dinner. Don't get me wrong, my skin still itched; I just didn't know what to do about it.

"Stay inside the hotel," Merrill told me as they prepared to leave for the confirmation the following evening. I nodded, even though there wasn't compulsion with that order. "You may not follow us," he added, compulsion heavy in his voice. I blinked at him. And then blinked again. The compulsion slid right off my brain like a raindrop on a window. Merrill's compulsion was struggling to stay with me; it just couldn't, flying away from my mind like an exhaled breath. No way was I going to tell him about it. Not right then, anyway, since they were all loaded up and ready to go. I just nodded like a good girl and waved as they took off. Was it because I was older, now, as a vampire? I had no idea why it hadn't worked and Merrill's compulsions were stronger than anyone else's I'd encountered, including Wlodek's commands. Walking back to Weldon's hotel room, I pondered the situation, considering what it might mean and how it might affect my future. The whole thing was truly strange and I was about to call Gavin to ask him about it, but other things drew my attention first.

My cell phone was in my hand when the door to the hotel room was kicked in, causing me to leap to my feet immediately. I hadn't been paying attention; people had been walking up and down the hall all evening. Three women stood in my doorway; two werewolves, one human. The human woman? I knew right away she was Tate's mother. One of the werewolves? Kelvin's mother. Well Kevin's mother, I should say. Tate's mother held a Taser. Did she think that was going to stop me? What the h.e.l.l did they want, anyway?

"Look what we have here," Tate's mother was smiling.

"h.e.l.lo, ladies," I said, nodding at them. "What can I do for you?"

"You can't do anything for them," the vampire came up behind them; he'd been off to the side, hiding himself at first. "But you will come with me quietly. I have a use for you." he smiled. The compulsion was dark and heavy in his voice and I almost laughed with relief when it slid away easier than Merrill's had. He was old; I could tell that right off. Older than Wlodek, actually, and he had a stink about him; something that I hadn't smelled from any other vampire. Nyles Abernathy had something similar when I'd scented him in Florida, but this was overwhelming. If evil had a smell, this guy had it bad.

"I don't think I'll go anywhere with you, but thanks for asking," I said, backing up a little. The women were advancing into the room, the vampire right behind them. The vampire drew in a breath when he discovered his compulsion didn't work. Now, I was either going to have to go out the window behind me or fight my way out. Concentrating on turning to mist while I considered this, I headed straight for the window. It was a record, I know; seconds it took me, not minutes, and instead of breaking through the window once my mist particles. .h.i.t the gla.s.s, that portion of it turned to mist with me and solidified again once I was through it and on the other side. That was a shock, let me tell you, and I wasted precious seconds bringing myself back to reality while my would-be kidnappers shouted inside the hotel room.

Realizing quickly that this was only one arm of an attack on all of us, I zipped through the air, high over the lighted parking lot of our Santa Fe hotel. Winkler said the confirmation would be held at some Packmember's business, but what was it? I was racking my brain; it was still addled at the attempted attack. I saw the vampire and the three women fly through the hotel door and rush toward a vehicle in the parking lot. Ten to one they'd be headed in the right direction as soon as they got the thing started. I decided to go along for the ride. Somewhere along the way, while I was flying over the top of their car, I gently lowered myself onto the top and rematerialized. Hanging on with one hand, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket with the other. I tried to get Merrill first but it went to his voice mail. Same with Winkler, Weldon and Glen. f.u.c.k. f.u.c.k cubed. I had a feeling Mr. Bad Vamp sitting in the pa.s.senger seat below was one of Saxom's get and still n.o.body had explained just who or what Saxom truly was. Now what was I supposed to do? I called Tony.

"Lissa?" He sounded like he was doing something while he talked to me on the phone.

"Hi, hon," I said. "I don't suppose you have any agents in the Santa Fe area armed with flamethrowers, do you?"

There was a moment of silence before he answered. "No flamethrowers, no," he said. "Do we need some?"

"You might unless you have some folks who can move mighty fast, armed with wood stakes," I said.

"Where?" he asked.

"That's what I don't know," I told him. "I'm on top of a car right now and they're headed in the right direction I'm sure, I just don't know what direction that is."

"I don't have time to get triangulation on your phone," he muttered.

"Wait," I said, "we're pulling into a parking lot. The sign says Galloway Recycling. Gotta go." I ended the call and turned to mist again. Mr. Vampire was sure to hear me once the road noise quieted a little. I floated off the car-far above it, in fact. The vampire's scent offended my nose more as time went along. He and the three women parked the car and raced toward the building. The business was a single-story brick with high, narrow windows and looked a bit like a warehouse with plenty of fluorescent lights burning brightly inside. The confirmation was probably in progress if it hadn't been interrupted already. What scared me as I floated closer (and would have made me shiver horribly if I'd been in a corporeal state), was the seventeen vampires and the twenty-six werewolves cl.u.s.tered against a brick wall adjacent to the front door. They all looked ready for battle; most of the werewolves were naked and ready to turn. And their numbers were being increased by Mr. Vampy and his three b.i.t.c.h companions. What were they hoping to gain from all this? I had no idea.

Merrill? I sent. Merrill, if you can hear me, there are eighteen vampires, twenty-eight werewolves and one human outside just waiting to come crashing in, I think. What was I supposed to do now? I'd tried to send Merrill mindspeech once before and he hadn't heard me then. He wasn't hearing me now, either. Would those people inside the building even have a chance when the army outside burst through the door? I misted toward the front and peeked in through a high window. They were in there, all right and it looked like the ceremony was going on as it normally would. Merrill was standing off to the side, completely oblivious. I misted to the opposite end of the building, watching as at least twenty people were sneaking along and crawling up a deep ravine on that side. They all were moving silently, rifles strapped to backs. If those were regular guns, good luck on getting those to work against the vamps. I misted lower and discovered that a few among those crawling along, scattered here and there, were vampires and werewolves. Those guys might have a chance against what waited on the other side of the building. I smelled Townsend and Renfro among them and then, well, I smelled Tony. He was here. Somehow, the information he'd gotten from Kevin or somebody had tipped him off, I guess. He was here now but I had no idea what his chances were against the ones on the other side of the building. I misted down beside him; he was crawling up the ravine, just like the rest of them. Tony was dressed completely in dark clothing. A gun strapped to a wide belt was around his waist and a rifle was at his back with lots of bullet clips to go with it. What the h.e.l.l had this guy done before he started doing what he was doing now? I had to admit to myself that my brain wasn't functioning at its best at the moment; it was mist particles, as it were.

Taking a huge chance, I solidified next to him. I had to put a hand over his mouth; he was so shocked at my sudden appearance he gasped. How was I going to tell him what was on the other side of the building? Tony? I sent. h.e.l.l, it was all I had.

Lissa? What the h.e.l.l are you doing here, Lissa? What the h.e.l.l are you, Lissa? His silent words were coming in loud and clear as he stared at me with those beautiful, gray-blue eyes.

Tony, there are eighteen vampires, twenty-eight werewolves and one human on the other side of this building, I replied, blinking at him as earnestly as I could. He flipped out some sort of communication device and sent something like a text message, I guess. All the other guys crawling in front of us whipped out their little communicators and got the message. Holy c.r.a.p.

Lissa, you were supposed to stay at the hotel, Tony was grumbling inside my head.

And I would have stayed there if it hadn't been for the visit from Mr. Vampy and his three b.i.t.c.hes, I returned snippily. We were still crawling along.

We need to get inside that door over there, Tony nodded toward a side door in the building-we'd gotten to the top of the ravine while having our mental conversation. It's locked, though, Tony went on, and it'll make noise if we knock it down. It would make noise, all right-the thing was made of steel.

I'll get it, I said and turned to mist right in front of his face. He looked quite shocked when I disappeared and flew over the heads of his advancing army to the s.p.a.ce beneath the door. I unlocked all three deadbolts, and hoping the door didn't creak when I opened it, cautiously cracked it open. It only creaked a little so I opened it as wide as it would go, finding a concrete block sitting next to the wall. Somebody had obviously used the cinderblock for that purpose before so I grabbed it to prop the door open. The army was nearly at the door, still crawling along. I ducked inside so they couldn't see and turned back to mist.

The minute the first of Tony's troops slipped through the side door, the rogue vampire/werewolf army crashed through the front. Chaos wasn't the term. Chaos to the tenth power might come close. People were screaming, growling, hissing and fighting. I was still mist and having trouble sorting out who were the good guys and who were the bad guys for a bit until I finally relied on my nose. The bad vamps were my first targets, but I was shocked to see Radomir, Russell, Robert and Flavio, all fighting alongside Merrill. Dalroy, Rhett, and a couple of other vampires I didn't recognize were also fighting. I knew they were good, plus they didn't have the taint like Mr. Vampy did. Weldon, Winkler and Glen were all fighting too, while Tony's troops were doing their best to shoot the bad wolves. Some of them were already inside the building during the confirmation, I think. They'd just waited for their cronies outside to come crashing in before attacking.

Claws were formed on my hands that materialized out of thin air, taking the head from Mr. Vampy, first thing. He was the one I wanted to die first, so I tracked him down. Then came Tate's mother, Kevin's mother and the female werewolf that had been with them. They were quite surprised; there was definitely shock in their eyes when they saw claws form from nothing and take their heads. Swift. Clean. Too bad I didn't have time to question them, but they threatened too many others.

Winkler was fighting beside Glen and he was shouting at Glen to go back and protect Kellee who was cowering in a corner. Glen didn't want to stop fighting but he did as he was told and went back to Kellee. I followed to see what I could do in that area, swiping off a couple of vamp heads while I was at it. The shrieking started when some of the bad vamps and werewolves pulled out crossbows loaded with wooden arrows and started shooting. There were six bad vamps left but I wasn't sure how many rogue werewolves remained. Most had turned to werewolf, but those from the inside were still in human form. Tony's men were having quite a bit of success in that area, at least. And Merrill? Wherever he was, it was like a tornado had been loosed in the place-he and Flavio both. Those older vamps had some moves, let me tell you.

Right about that time, I noticed we had a mister with us. The Council must have sent one of them; he was off to the side, rematerializing slowly so he could help out I'm sure. In slow motion, almost, I saw two of the remaining bad vamps take aim with crossbows loaded with wooden arrows-one at the mister, the other at Glen. I was between both of them at the moment and time stood still for me right then. I could save one but not the other. Glen was too far away to do anything other than stand in front of Kellee, who was whimpering and cowering behind his back. The mister was solid enough to take a hit but not completely solidified. I had a choice to make and I prayed it was the right one; an arrow in Glen's torso might not have as devastating an effect as one to the mister. Both bolts were shot at nearly the same moment so I streamed toward the mister, my hands materializing out of thin air as I knocked the wooden shaft away. It had been aimed right at the center of the vampire's chest and would have killed him I think, if I hadn't deflected it. The one aimed at Glen? If I had known, my choice might have been different, I think. What do you do in that small moment? When time stands still and you find yourself transfixed while the train wreck happens before your eyes and you're helpless to do anything other than cry out? That image plays in your mind at times, for the rest of your life. Glen took the arrow in his left eye and he was dead before he hit the floor.

That infuriated me past anything I had ever felt as a vampire. The mister was shocked, I'm sure, when I materialized fully in front of him in less than two seconds, wading into the fray and slashing heads off anything unfriendly. I had the scent of Saxom's get in my nose that night, and anything that smelled like that died. They couldn't move fast enough. I'm sure I was shouting something as I killed, I just didn't know what it was. The rogue werewolves? Same thing. If I knew they were bad, they died. When I finally ran out of something to kill, I think I knocked out the front of the building. It blasted out in front of me, I know that much, and I was still enraged. I stood on the empty sidewalk in front of Galloway Recycling, screaming my lungs out in fury. The owners might have some recycling of their own to do if I took down the entire building. After my lengthy scream ended, I paused a moment just to catch my breath. That's when Merrill and Flavio came to stand nearby, one on either side of me.

"That was impressive," Flavio observed calmly. "But you disobeyed your sire. There will be consequences." As first words spoken after a battle go, those sucked.

"Lovely," I said, turning swiftly to go back inside the building, both vampires following behind. Merrill still hadn't said anything to me. Quite possibly, he was seething or something and didn't trust himself to say something until he had his temper under control. How did I know? Winkler was already kneeling beside Glen and I went to join him. I wanted to hurl curses at Kellee, who was weeping fake tears against the far wall, but neither her tears nor my anger would bring Glen back. And he and I had just started liking each other, teasing each other and having actual conversations.

"Glen, honey, I'm so sorry," I was crying now that the reality was setting in. "I had the choice to make and I made the wrong one. I went to protect the mister thinking you might have a better chance at surviving. I was wrong." I reached out and touched his hand; it was already going cold.

"Lissa, he can't hear you," Winkler said softly. I turned on him.

"How the f.u.c.k do you know?" I shouted, wiping tears away. "What the f.u.c.k do any of you know?" I stood up and turned to mist right there in front of everybody in the s.p.a.ce of a blink. I heard some muttering around the wide warehouse, but I didn't care. There were other dead scattered around the room, some of them werewolves. The vampires had already turned to ash. I saw Tony off to the side with his men; they were collecting their own dead into a corner. This had been a cooperative effort between the vampires, werewolves and Tony's department. They'd planned this and left me completely out of it. If Mr. Vampy hadn't come to the hotel with his b.i.t.c.h contingent, I still might not have known. My skin would have continued to itch and I would have known after the fact, if at all. Yeah, I was young as a vampire but that didn't make me worthless or stupid. They were going to treat me that way, though. And Flavio said there would be consequences for disobeying my sire. Well, swell. I had to go back before they took it upon themselves to declare me rogue again.

Merrill was standing near Winkler and Weldon while bodies were carted away. I noticed that the trucks that had come were unmarked. That spelled Tony to me. Flavio and Radomir were also there and they were discussing something with the Grand Master. When I misted closer, I discovered they were talking about me.

"Where do you think she might go?" Flavio asked. "We have already checked the hotel. She isn't there."

"Like I had time to get there," I made myself solid. I wanted to say duh, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea. Flavio was on the Council, after all. And Wlodek was his sire. That was trouble to the twelfth power.

"Lissa," Merrill gripped my arm, "you may not leave my sight unless I say so, do you hear me?" That compulsion sounded like the voice of G.o.d and it still slid right off my brain. I wasn't about to tell him that, though. Somehow, I got the feeling that if he knew and if Flavio knew right then, things might go very badly for me. I nodded instead. That information was about to stay with me. Permanently.

I sat on the bed in what was once Glen's room, wondering if he had any family while I listened to the argument going on next door. Weldon was shouting at times and I sure hoped there wasn't anybody human within hearing distance. Merrill had left me in Glen's room, told me not to go anywhere and then went with Flavio to do verbal battle with Weldon and Winkler. Weldon didn't mince words. "Do you know how many of those f.u.c.kers she took out?" I could see him in my mind, he gestured wildly when he was that angry; I'd seen it before.

"We are aware of what she did," Flavio calmly replied and there was knowledge of the good and the bad that I'd committed in his words. The bad being my disobedience, I suppose, and then allowing everybody to see me turn to mist. I'll bet there was a lot of compulsion surrounding that one.

"I still expect her to finish out the tour," Weldon snarled.

"Out of the question," Merrill said. "She will be returning with us immediately. We are a.s.signing Dalroy and Rhett to you; they will protect you just as well."

Weldon wasn't convinced and said so, along with the fact that he trusted me and not some strange vampires foisted off on him.

"The Council is insisting," Flavio said. Yeah. He was on the Council so of course they were insisting. And since he was Wlodek's vampire child, what Flavio knew, Wlodek would know. If he didn't already, he would very soon. I had no idea where the other vampires went; I'd been hustled right out of the building by Merrill and Flavio and driven straight to the hotel. I might have wanted to talk to Tony but didn't have the chance and Merrill had taken my cell phone away. If the Council wanted, they wouldn't hold somebody back from killing me this time. Maybe it was for the best.

Chapter 13.

All of Glen's things were neatly packed up in his suitcases by the time the argument was over and I'd tidied his room. My things were still in Weldon's room and I couldn't get to them while the conversation had taken place. Merrill walked in, ordered me to go get all my things and stood against Weldon's wall while I did it. Flavio had left already; he might have been p.i.s.sed but he wasn't showing it to the wolves. Oh, no. He wore the mask just as well as any of the rest of them.

When I had all my things packed up, including my laptop, Merrill pointed me in the direction of his room and I had to go. I figured the lecture was coming and I wasn't wrong. "Now, Lissa, you will explain to me why you left the hotel and how you found us." He was angry.

I had to tell him about the vampire and the three women who'd come for me, explaining that I'd managed to get away from them and then followed them out to the parking lot. I hadn't disobeyed Merrill's compulsion-I hadn't followed him and Weldon. I had followed Mr. Vampy and his companions instead, knowing they were most likely headed to the confirmation. I didn't know whether help or a warning was needed and I attempted to explain that to Merrill. He listened, stone-faced, to my story. I was truthful when I told him that I had no idea the other vampires and the soldiers or whatever they were would be there, too. He nodded at that-n.o.body had told me anything. He also asked if I'd been telling the truth about whether to protect Glen or the mister. I wiped away tears when I said yes. There was no comfort from Merrill and I didn't expect any. If Gavin was ordered to remove my head this time, I figured he'd just close his eyes and do it.

Vampires were a strange lot and I still didn't feel I belonged to their race. Truly, I had no idea what I was, not being human any longer and feeling like an outsider as a vampire. What I realized, however, was that I was now stuck in vampire limbo until the vampires who ruled the race decided my fate again. After all, Wlodek told me the first time that if I found myself before the Council a second time, it was likely the death penalty would be levied.

Dutifully I answered all of Merrill's questions, my head bowed as I pondered my fate. After going over my story multiple times, searching for cracks or discrepancies, Merrill fed me a little blood shortly before dawn. I was thirsty and exhausted; I'd used up a lot of energy after all. The rest of the bag was returned to the cooler and I covered myself up in one of two queen beds, turning my back on Merrill and falling asleep with the dawn.

We stopped in New York on our way home, but since we were in the Council's jet, I didn't get to see Merrill's apartment. Franklin had already left for London; Merrill told me that at least but little else. Flavio, Radomir and Russell were on the flight with us but the others had already gone on to other a.s.signments or back to ones already started. More than once, I wondered what the Council was going to do to me and got the shivers every single time. The trip to London was longer of course and we landed with little time to spare. I discovered I was to be kept in a building on the outskirts of London rather than going back to Merrill's manor. It was a larger cell than the first one I'd had but it was still a cell, holding only a small bed, a tiny table and nothing else.

The Council didn't see me for six days and Merrill didn't come to see me, either. Gavin might have dropped off the face of the earth for all I knew, or perhaps I wasn't allowed visitors. What I knew and they didn't, though, was that I could have turned to mist at any time and just slipped through a crack. I didn't. Their compulsion didn't work when they told me to stay silent and not escape. I had no intention of breaking either of those commands. They'd kill me for sure and maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Too many things had happened to me during the past three months-some of them awful things. Maybe this was karma for killing Lily. Even if she'd made the turn, I just couldn't let her live like that-a half-life, hidden and requiring blood to sustain herself. The Council wouldn't have let her live anyway; she was too young. Her death at my hands had been swift while she was between death and vampire. No, that didn't make me feel good about it. Not in any sense of the word.

Radomir came for me on the sixth night and we didn't talk as he placed the usual silver alloy chains on my wrists and asked me to walk before him out of the building. I was blindfolded when we reached the park I remembered from before and he led me for quite a while. I knew when we pa.s.sed the two vampires at the entrance to the cave-Russell and Stephan, this time, I could tell by the scent. We didn't say anything to each other. I'd made a choice and now I was about to pay for it.

The blindfold was removed and I found myself facing Wlodek and the Council, just as before. Charles had a deep frown on his face as he tapped away on his computer. I scented the room and could have described everyone there, including Merrill and Gavin. They were both present.

Wlodek was toying with his gold pen. Perhaps that was his way of dealing with things that irked him. He pulled out the pen and twirled it or flipped it in his fingers. There certainly wasn't any expression on his face to give anything away. Charles didn't meet Wlodek's eyes when he nodded to him. Wlodek cleared his throat a little.

"Lissa Beth Huston, formerly known as Lissa Beth Workman, it has been reported to the Council that you disobeyed your sire. Is this true?"

"Of course it is," I said, handing him a level look. It was probably on the vampire version of Youtube or Mys.p.a.ce. Besides, how many witnesses were there? More than enough to convict me, that's for sure. I shivered.

"Explain, please." I did. I told him exactly what I'd told Merrill. My recall was almost perfect. It must have been a side effect of becoming vampire but Merrill and I had never covered that in our lessons. Those were likely over now. I didn't expect to walk out of the Council chamber.

"So, you took it upon yourself to leave the hotel after you knew the ones who'd come to kidnap you were leaving?"

"Yes." He asked me to explain, so I did. He looked at his papers. He didn't ask me to explain how I'd gotten away from my attackers at the hotel or how I'd managed to kill at least ten of the bad vamps along with quite a few werewolves. He did ask me about the incident where I'd saved the mister rather than the werewolf.