"What are we going to do about Olivia?" I asked as we were sitting around John's living room later that night, after the other vampires had long since left. We'd pumped her full of O negative and sent her back to bed. Even though she insisted she wasn't tired, she'd quickly fallen asleep. June was currently sleeping in John's room, and the rest of us were talking strategy. Even Bridget had returned after taking time to cool off.

"Leave Olivia to me," Thomas replied. "I'll see to it that she is adequately provided for."

"You think you'll be able to handle her?" I said with a laugh, though I was only half-joking.

The side of Thomas's mouth pulled up. "Give me a little credit. I've dealt with worse, or have you forgotten who my sister is?"

I returned the smile. "Touché."

"We need to get started on compulsion-resistance training as soon as we can," John said, changing the subject.

"Do you think it's worth it?" Ian asked.

"I do," I said. "I mean, it's best to remain inconspicuous and quietly fight this battle, but Margaret crippled me in no time flat. Once she took away my ability to speak or move, I was powerless to resist. She could easily make mind slaves of us all, and that's what we're trying to prevent. We have to give the vampires of this jurisdiction some chance of defending themselves, no matter how small that chance might be."

"Then we've got to convince Hannah to join us," John said. "I can't teach this many vampires on my own, and our numbers are growing. Besides, I'm not sure how effective I will be. I'm used to compelling unresisting humans. There are a lot of vampires older and stronger than I am, so they'll naturally need more of a challenge when learning to resist. The reason Margaret is such a powerful Compeller is because she's been around for a long time, but Hannah is nearly as old. She would be an asset to our team."

"You don't have to convince me," I said.

"Hannah would be a match even for Margaret," Thomas said. "We just have to persuade her to help us."

"I will go with you," Bridget announced. "Hannah might listen to me, if no one else."

"Yes, I think that would be wise," Thomas agreed, giving Bridget a look I couldn't interpret.

"What should I do in the meantime?" I asked. "Twiddle my thumbs?"

"You should go to school," Andrew answered. "Act like a normal human girl. Remain inconspicuous, as you said."

"But I'm not a normal human, remember?"

"Then I suggest you pretend," Andrew replied with a tight smile.

"The main threats to our safety are my father, Margaret, and Josiah," Thomas said, cutting in before I could make a sarcastic reply to Andrew. "We must give them no reason to doubt our loyalty to the family."

"And what will your father do once he discovers I've gone missing?" Ian asked. "Will he send Josiah to fetch me?"

"We will speak to him together and assure him of your allegiance," Thomas said. "But we will tell him you cannot bear to be away from John. After all, my father understands the importance of family ties."

Ian looked uncertain but nodded. "Aye."

Thomas leaned forward in his chair then and put a hand on Ian's shoulder. "If not for you, we would be at a serious disadvantage. It took courage to disclose the rumors you heard and to report that my father has commissioned you to speak to other Head Watchers on his behalf. You could have kept quiet to ensure your safety under the protection of our family name, but you spoke up."

Ian bowed his head. "I have done much in my life that I am ashamed of. It means a great deal to me that I've maybe done a little good now."

"I'm trusting you to help keep Blake and Olivia safe while I'm gone," John said to his maker.

"I won't let ye down," Ian said. "I promise. But what's to stop Margaret or Josiah, or even Conrad Abernathy himself, from coming around?"

"Nothing," Andrew answered. "Josiah will be attuned to Blake regardless because of their connection. As long as we give them no reason to be suspicious of us, they will not retaliate."

"You must remember Conrad Abernathy wishes to remain as discreet about his goings-on as we do," Bridget said. "He does not realize we have knowledge of his deeds. If you wish to win this battle, it must remain that way."

Listening to the other vampires speak, I was beginning to understand how Conrad Abernathy's conniving mind worked. "Maybe the reason Mr. Abernathy wanted Josiah to make me a vampire was so he could have some claim over us."

"What do you mean?" Thomas asked.

"Well, he must have known you and John might eventually turn against him. Had he allowed John to make me a vampire, we could have made a clean split, but he couldn't risk losing one of his Compellers. Josiah, being a Watcher, isn't going anywhere. So if he has Josiah, he has me. And if he has me, he has John."

"Your logic is confounding," Andrew said, "but I think you might be right."

"Margaret has always been Father's pet," Thomas said with a scowl. "At least now we know where everyone stands. I must appear to be aligned with his beliefs, for as long as possible, for everyone's sake."

"I am bored of talking," Bridget complained loudly. She tugged on John's sleeve. "If we're to convince Hannah to side with us, we should go now. Why delay?"

John glanced at me, a silent conversation passing between us. I would have given anything to spend a quiet night alone with him, and I knew he was thinking the same thing. Obligation, however, came first.

"I have already arranged the meeting," Andrew said. "We can leave now and be there in an hour."

"Then we should go."

Rising, John took my hand and pulled me to my feet. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "I love you. I'll be back soon."

I felt the first twinges of apprehension knotting my stomach, but I pushed them down. "I know."

A few minutes later Ian, Thomas, and I stood on the edge of the sidewalk and watched the taillights of Andrew's car fading into the distance.

**********

Neither Margaret nor Thomas were at school the next day. According to Thomas, Margaret was still sleeping off the lingering effects of Olivia's incompatible blood. He, along with June and Ian, was keeping an eye on Olivia, who was too "sick" to go to school.

Needless to say, concentrating on my classes was next to impossible. Listening to teachers drone on about Beowulf and the Cold War felt pointless when I had bigger and more important things to stress out about, including, but not limited to, my boyfriend, my best friend, my family, and preserving our very existence. When three o'clock finally rolled around and the bell rang, I escaped from the building as quickly as possible.

I spied Josiah leaning against my car from a distance and lurched to a stop. I was poised to turn and retreat into the building so that I could exit from the back entrance—I could always come back for my car later—when he looked up and beckoned to me. But I had already made up my mind. Without another thought, I turned on my heel and sprinted for the cover of the building. If Josiah thought he could simply summon me and I'd go to him, he was sorely mistaken.

Glance over my shoulder, I saw that he was already in pursuit. I wasn't as fast as Josiah, but I was somewhat faster than a human now. Still, there was no way he'd risk drawing any more attention to himself than he already had by doing anything supernatural. Picking up the pace, I pushed through the crowds of lingering students and reentered the building, shooting down the main corridor to the opposite side of the building.

Pounding down the stairs leading to the back exit, I barreled through the glass doors, relieved to see no sign of Josiah. I ran through the parking lot, dodging cars as they queued up to leave for the day. Then I sprinted across the street to the sidewalk and lengthened my stride, trying to put as much distance as I could between Josiah and me, wherever he was now. There was a convenience store a block down the road. I could lose him there.

As I neared the store, however, a hand reached out and gripped my coat, pulling me behind the meager cover of a skeletal Forsythia.

"I am beginning to understand what John finds so appealing about you," Josiah said. "You had fight in you as a human, but you have even more as a vampire."

He pushed me against the back wall of the gas station, not so hard as to incapacitate me, but hard enough that breathing was difficult. "Where is John?"

"Like I'm going to tell you."

Josiah pushed harder, baring his teeth. "I gave you life, Blake Ehlert. I can take it away."

I rasped out a laugh. "You wouldn't do that."

Josiah's breath flowed hot against my neck, a contrast to the cold afternoon that even I could feel. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because it would kill you, too."

The pulse in his neck throbbed as his fingers constricted around my throat. He continued to bare his teeth, and for a split second I thought he was going to attack, but then his grip loosened and he released me. It took all I had not to put my hand to my throat and massage the pain away. I refused to show him how much he had hurt me.

Putting his arms on either side of me, Josiah trapped me between his body and the wall. Suddenly, his lips were on mine, hot and insistent. I slapped him away, though he had the audacity to look shocked.

"Where is John?" he demanded again.

"Are you kidding me? First, you think you can bully me into telling you where my boyfriend is, and then you think I'll give it up for a kiss? You seriously need to learn some boundaries, not to mention how to treat women."

Trembling with rage, I pushed past Josiah. I made it less than ten feet before he grabbed my arm, spinning me around.

"Tell me where he is!"

I glared at the hulking vampire, yanking my arm in an attempt to break free. "Why do you want to know?"

Josiah's jaw hardened. He pulled me against him and kissed me again, and this time I bit his bottom lip in retaliation, the taste of blood blossoming on my tongue. I shoved him away and wiped a hand against my mouth.

"What the hell is your problem?"

I began backing up, still facing him, but he only stared at me. When he made no move to follow, I turned and fled, making my way back to the school parking lot to the relative safety of my car.

Yet I couldn't stop thinking about how my body had reacted to Josiah's kiss, the zing of adrenaline—and longing—that I had momentarily felt. And the terrible thing was I knew he knew.

"This isn't good. This is so not good."

I rammed my key into the ignition, relieved when the car roared to life. The sooner I got out of there, the better. Taking a deep breath, I drove as calmly as I could to John's house, as though nothing at all had happened.

*****

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