"I would have expected a bit more decorum in front of your parents, but we can do this the hard way I suppose," Moroi said, standing and turning to face me.

My parents stared at me with confused and alarmed looks, and I realized too late just what I had done. If I had kept quiet, asked to speak to Moroi alone, I could have kept them out of this. Now they would be concerned about me and start asking questions that could get them hurt – or killed.

"What on earth is going on here?" my mother asked, as if she had read my thoughts and just had to get involved. "How do you two know each other?"

I cringed and tried to think of a way out for them. "Listen," I began, hoping they would listen. "I need you two to leave the house."

When they made no move to leave I added, "Now!"

My father squared his shoulders and I could tell from the resolute look on his face that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Thea, who is this man? Do we need to call the police?" he asked, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.

"I need you to leave, Dad. You and mom. Right now," I repeated, staring down a grinning Moroi. He looked almost amused by the whole situation.

"Listen to your daughter," Moroi told them without taking his eyes off of me. "If you don't I'll have to kill you. And honestly I don't feel like cleaning up the mess."

"We aren't going anywhere," my mother snapped, marching over to stand beside me and glaring at Moroi. "And I think you should explain yourself. Or leave."

I pushed her behind me and looked at my dad. In my mind I pleaded with him to understand how dangerous the situation was and how crucial it was that they leave immediately. I jerked my head toward the back door and said, "Dad, please. I will be fine, but I need you and mom to leave. Please."

"You know we can't do that, sweetheart," he replied, giving me a sad smile. "You're our little girl. We aren't going to just abandon you."

"Pity," Moroi snarled, and before I could blink he had my father pinned against the opposite wall, his neck bared and fangs an inch from the skin.

"NO! Wait! Please!" I begged, rushing forward. "You can have whatever you want! Just please, leave them out of this!"

A soft thunk behind me drew all of our attention. My mother had fainted, and her phone had slipped from her fingers that had been poised to dial 911.

"Look," I indicated to the vampire. "She isn't any threat to you. And if you let my father go he won't be either. You and I can leave here and discuss whatever you came here for."

Moroi turned to me slowly, his hand still clenched around my father's neck. "I came here to kill you and your phoenix friend, but his scent isn't anywhere in the house. Peculiar, since the two of you were so close in purgatory."

I shook my head and stepped backward in an attempt to lure him away from my father. "Roran is dead. And if you want to kill me too, that's fine. Just let my father go."

The room grew dark from Moroi's rage and a hiss echoed from his throat. To my relief he released my father's throat and stalked toward me, his eyes almost completely black and his fangs looking as sharp as knives.

"You think you can lie to me?" he snarled, grabbing a handful of my shirt and jerking me forward. "You have one chance to tell me where the phoenix is hiding. Otherwise I will turn both your mother and father and drag their souls to purgatory to be tortured forever."

My eyes widened at the threat. "I swear to you, Roran is dead! He sacrificed himself to get me out of purgatory! He burned up!"

Moroi examined my face, obviously trying to determine whether or not I was lying. After a moment he surprised me by smiling. He let go of my shirt and I stumbled away from him as quickly as possible. I chanced a glance over at my father, hoping it wouldn't draw Moroi's attention. He was slumped against the cabinets, still trying to draw breaths. Apparently Moroi had done a number on him when he had him pinned by the throat.

"You really don't know do you?" He laughed, cocking his head to the side.

"Know what?" I asked, returning my full attention to the vampire king. Without my realizing it, he had managed to get close to me again.

"Your precious Roran isn't dead. He's weak and powerless now. But not dead."

I snorted. "And how would you know? He's one of the few phoenixes left and I doubt he told you his secrets."

Moroi smirked and said, "You're right, he didn't tell me. Merlin did. I assume he told you about Merlin."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, the man was more than willing to betray him for a ticket out of purgatory."

"You're wrong," I argued. "Roran said he and Merlin were friends."

"Yes, they were friends," he explained. "Until Roran made the mistake of sharing his most important secret with the wizard: the secret of how to kill a phoenix. Merlin came to me and told me everything."

"And I'm guessing in return you let him think he would get to leave purgatory? When actually you were just selling his soul to those demons?"

Moroi nodded. "Very good. I didn't know you had figured that out. It's puzzling though. How can you know my secrets but you don't know all of your lover's?"

His words stung a bit, but I didn't let it get to me. "I knew enough."

He rolled his eyes. "Hardly. The phoenix didn't tell you anything until it was nearly too late, and even then he didn't really tell you anything of importance. He could have told you he would survive the sacrifice. Do you know why he didn't, Thea?"

I couldn't respond. My tongue felt dry and thick and my brain was still trying to process the fact that Roran might still be alive.

"He didn't tell you because he didn't trust you," Moroi stated, moving forward and pinning me against the wall.

I shook my head but he ignored my protests and kept talking.

"The only way a phoenix can be killed is after they sacrifice their power for someone they care about. It leaves them weak, powerless, and practically human. He didn't tell you that because he was afraid you would use it against him."

"Even if I believe you, it doesn't matter. You said you were here to find out where he is. Well, I don't know. So you're out of luck," I said, glaring at him.

I gulped as Moroi's fangs elongated again. "I also remember saying I was here to kill you," he growled.

"Why?" I asked, a last ditch effort to keep him distracted. "Why waste your time on me? I'm one person."

"The one person who managed to escape purgatory, you mean? The person responsible for the demons questioning my rule! You not only found a way to return to your human form, you also managed to escape right under my nose! Now the demons think I'm unfit as king and wish to replace me! I was given an ultimatum: kill you and the phoenix and everyone who knew about your escape or perish. I have not come this far and gained so much to lose it all to the likes of you."

"But why do the demons care about me?"

Moroi snarled and punched a hole into the wall near my head. "How should I know? I do as I'm told and don't ask stupid questions!"

"Some king you are," I muttered under my breath. "Shouldn't you be the one giving orders, not following them?"

I flinched and slammed my eyes shut as Moroi roared and surged forward to kill me. I waited for several seconds, but nothing happened – no pain, no bleeding, just a soft thud followed by heavy breathing.

I squinted open one eye to see my mother standing over the body of Moroi, a carving knife sticking out of his back.

"Mom?"  She looked up at me in a daze.  "How did you know staking him in the back like that would work?"

Shrugging one shoulder she replied, "Sometimes I watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the weekends."

I couldn't help but laugh in response, but I sobered quickly at the glare she gave me.

'This is no time for laughter, Alethea! Your father is injured and there is a dead...thing in our kitchen!" she shouted at me, waving her arms about dramatically.

"Sorry, Mama," I replied, feeling guilt for what I had caused hit me like a slap in the face.

"Let's just get your father to the hospital. You can explain everything on the way," she said, placing an arm under my father's shoulder and heaving him to his feet.

I slid my father's other arm around my shoulders and together we helped him into my mother's sedan. He was still wheezing and hardly conscious and I worried that Moroi might have partially crushed his windpipe.

Once we were all settled in and headed to the hospital at an alarming rate of speed, my mother looked at me out of the corner of her eye and said, "Now I want an explanation, young lady. And don't you dare lie to me."

Not knowing where to start, I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I died."

My mother braked too hard at a stop sign and I went flying into the dash. Wincing at the pain, I turned to her to complain about her reckless driving only to pause when I caught sight of the tears rolling down her face.

"I knew it," she whispered, gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. "Your father thought I was being overly dramatic, but when you disappeared I felt like a part of me had died. I knew you were gone."

She wiped her eyes and continued driving, more slowly this time to my relief. "How did you come back? And what does that thing in the kitchen have anything to do with it?" she asked.

"It's a very, very long story, mama," I replied, heaving a sigh and rubbing my eyes. "That man in the kitchen was Moroi. He is a vampire that rules over a section of purgatory."

She shook her head and frowned. "Purgatory? But if you had died wouldn't you have gone to heaven?"

I smiled at her; glad she still had such a high opinion of me. "Before I died I had been turned into a vampire. Or rather I was in the process of turning into one when I was killed. And all monsters like vampires go to purgatory."

"You didn't answer my question, Thea. How did you get out?'

I shook my head. "It's complicated to explain. But basically, a man there sacrificed himself for me. That's why Moroi was so angry. No one is allowed to leave purgatory and he is supposed to make sure of that."

"The man that sacrificed himself for you, is that the Roran he was referring to?" she asked, her voice becoming more gentle and motherly. It was as if she could sense this topic would upset me, so she was treading lightly.

"Yes," I stated plainly, my mind still caught up on the possibility he might be alive somewhere.

"Well, it seems I owe him my thanks," my mother whispered, her eyes tearing up again. "I'm so glad you were able to get out of there, sweetheart. I can't imagine what it was like for you if there were others like this Moroi there."

Now it was my turn to tear up. "It was awful, Mama," I said, my voice croaky and broken.

She took one hand off the steering wheel to clasp my hand. "It's going to be alright. You're home now and if I have anything to say about it you will never have to face anything like that again."

"I have to find him, mama," I said, willing her to understand. "Roran is out there somewhere in danger. I have to find him before Moroi does."

"But I killed him. Moroi. I killed him. Didn't I?" she replied, shooting me a confused look.

"You killed him and sent him straight back to purgatory. He is king there, so it won't be long before he gets out again to come hunt us down," I explained. "Which also means you can't go back to the house anytime soon. You will have to stay in a hotel or something until I can figure out a way to stop him for good."

We pulled into the hospital parking lot and as my mother put the car in park she turned directly to face me. "Excuse me? I'm not letting you go off alone to fight some vampire king!"

"Mama you have to stay here with dad and make sure he's okay."

We both turned to look at him at the same time. He seemed to be breathing a bit better, but he was still dazed.

"Let's just get your father inside and then will figure everything out," she replied.

I frowned and stared at my shoes in shame as my mother lied to the ER nurse about my father's injuries. This couldn't happen again. I wouldn't let it.

When I noticed my mother was distracted by the doctor who had come in to examine my father's injuries I slipped out of the room. I knew she would be furious and terrified once she realized I was gone, but I also knew this was the best place for her to be.

She was tough, and I had no doubts she could have helped me a great deal in my attempts to find Roran, but I couldn't ask her to do that. I could never make her choose between staying with my injured father and leaving with me. It would break her heart.

No, I would do this alone. I would find Roran and together we would stop Moroi. For good.