Brad was pacing the living room floor. He insisted that we move downstairs because even though the attic was bright and airy, it was still creepy.

Was he angry? No, I think he was more confused than anything.

"So, let me get this straight. They can't kill you because if they do, the rule of this town will pass to your child, the kid that you've not seen in over sixty years."

"Seventy,"

"Yeah, okay. Seventy."

Brad was about to roll his eyes but stopped when I frowned at him. It was not the time for it.

"And because Ryan saw the crack in the wall downstairs, he'll go and tell the vampire that you're breaking free."

"He's already told him. I overheard his daughter telling her friends. Audrey said that the vampire went off his tree about it."

"Which means that he's not happy and will be considering the next move. I anticipate that he will either send someone here to confirm the details or present himself to take me down once and for all. I cannot predict which one as I have not been around him in a long time. The state of his mind could be healthy or could be quite mad."

Brad looked at me and, in particular, the necklace. The arm stretched out as the glare hardened, pointing to the pendant.

"What's that all about?"

"Evelyn and I have formed an agreement that benefits both of us and, in turn, you. She is my familiar, and through her, I can extend the familiar protection to you. If a vampire threatens your life, mention my name, and all issues will fade away."

"You mean the vampires that want you dead."

"Yes, the very same. There is a code that they will adhere to regardless of any issues that they may have with a vampire. It is against our law to attack a familiar."

"And when you're dead?"

"I don't plan on dying, but if the unthinkable happened, then I would suggest that you tighten your laces and run."

I shouldn't have smiled, but I did. I also shouldn't have giggled, but I did that too. Brad frowned at me. I stopped, pursing my lips in a vain attempt to stop laughing.

"So, what else am I missing out on? You pretending you were sick just to get out of school yesterday, the purple-eyed boy, those Nephilim things?"

"I freaked out yesterday and panicked. Today was just as distressing, and I didn't call you."

Brad huffed, not impressed. I thought it was pretty good, considering that I wanted to run all the way back here and not wait for Brad to turn up and scold me.

"The purple-eyed boy is the Nephilim, and we're still trying to figure that out." Niko offered. "They are the product of a fallen angel and a demon breeding. The fact that it has presented itself to Evelyn twice now is an issue."

Brad's eyes widened as he turned and looked at me.

"Have you ever seen this kid or anyone else like him before coming here?"

Giving Brad a grim look, I shook my head. I would have told him if I'd seen anyone with strange eyes. I would definitely tell him that someone had disappeared in front of me if it happened. The only reason I hadn't told him of today's interaction was that I needed to speak with Niko about it.

"Told you we were in Hell."

"We should have stayed in Gainsport."

"Where you are is of no relevance. The Nephilim will always find the person they are looking for. As for the vampire problem, this is just one of many, many towns that we are a part of. In fact, many towns had vampires before they had humans."

"Well, yay for them," Brad muttered.

With a heavy sigh, Brad sat in the lounge and frowned heavily. His lips were tight, and his fingers rapped against the armrest. He was thinking, and it wasn't good going by the look on his face.

"I'll quit work. We can be gone by morning."

"It won't save her."

His fingers stopped, and the frown fell quickly.

"You may not even need to worry. Just because there is a Nephilim hanging around does not mean that there is danger. I know that it said that they are coming for you to her, but that is no indication of a threat."

"Why would this Nephilim have an interest in Evie?"

Niko turned his head to look at me. Assessing eyes dragged over me, no emotions on his face.

"I have my suspicions that it may have something to do with her father. As we have no way of finding out who he is, we may have to rely on their input into this."

The mind-blowing revelation that my father might be more than just an average human was a little hard to take in. I sat down, staring into nothing.

Did my mother know? Was it obvious? I looked at Niko, and many aspects of him could be taken as one or the other. He looked human, but he looked wrong. Knowing he was a vampire made sense. All these questions made me wish that my mother was alive so I could ask her. If she was, I wouldn't be here.

Maybe she did know what my father was. What were the chances that she was his familiar? Was that the reason she was always gone at night and sometimes during the day? It certainly fitted the requirements. If that were the case, then maybe she wasn't passed out in bed from drug use. Maybe it was sleeping off a feed.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Always," Niko offered.

"Is it possible that my mother was a familiar for a vampire?"

"Anything is possible. What makes you think that?"

"She was always gone at night, sometimes during the day. I used to think she was high on drugs and sleeping, but I now think that she could have been low on blood after a feed. If she was lethargic, she would be irritable, which could be the reason for her outbursts."

I saw the exchanges that Niko and Brad shared. Niko returned with a vague smile.

"All are valid thoughts, Evelyn. A vampire will feed on a familiar, but usually, it is only if there is no other alternative. To make her lethargic though, he would have to drink a lot of blood which would have made your mother disorientated. If that were the case, it would be likely that she would struggle to stand upright, let alone hold the ability to return home. The other thought that you must consider is that if this vampire is your father, he would know that you exist and, in that case, you would reside in his home. There is no other alternative to this situation. Vampires keep their families by their side and nothing else. This means that either the vampire in question is not your father, was unaware that you existed, or was too dangerous for you to be around. I do not wish to be presumptuous about the relationship that you had with her, but I heard the conversation that you and Brad had. If she beat you, then I'm inclined to think that she wouldn't care if you were around a dangerous vampire."

"Evie," Brad said softly. "I know that you're trying to find something that will make things fit, but I saw your mother's police record. The woman from child services showed it to me so that I would understand because I didn't believe her. No matter how much I said that your mother would have asked me for help, she wouldn't hear it. I said that we would meet for lunch. She'd be happy and never ask for a single dollar. The woman replied with the simple statement that I didn't know that you existed. Think about that, Evie. I saw your mother regularly, and she never mentioned you. I did not know you existed until the funeral. When I saw this crying kid in the front row, I looked at her and saw a younger version of my mother. I have no explanation for why she kept you a secret, but she did."

Yeah, I had no idea why she did that, either.

"Perhaps she knew that Evelyn was not completely human. If she displayed peculiar behavior as a child, then it would stand to reason that she would think it was necessary to hide her."

"But I went to school."

"And she also beat you. A broken spirit can do more damage than what we see at the surface."

"So, what are we talking about here?" Brad asked. "One of those Nephilim, angel, demon, vampire?"

"There are a few possibilities, and yes, those are all on the table as well."

Brad whistled through his teeth.

"The others?"

"Well, it has been a long time since there has been a witch, but it's possible that they still exist. For a while, there was a shapeshifter problem, but that seemed to stop when the black plague hit Europe."

"Wait, you were alive for the black plague?"

"Unfortunately, yes. If you are wondering, no, it does not kill a vampire, but the blood of the infected was incredibly foul. It is standard practice to leave the healthy alone in such times, which made life rather difficult. This is the reason that my family traveled to this land and claimed Hades as our own. We were one of the first towns to attract humans to it."

"Hang on, they told us that the town founder was Reginald Hades."

Niko held his hands out with a beaming smile.

"So very pleased to meet you. I am Reginald Hades, the town founder of this lovely little place. In a few years, I will, unfortunately, meet with a rather sticky end but do not fear. Someone will be waiting to take my place. Over and over again until one day, no one will remember what any of the predecessors look like."

"You?" I said dryly.

Niko smiled and nodded his head.

"Yes, me. I picked the place based on the location, near the ocean, with a little bit of flat land for lots of houses and a lovely forest to wander through. With a little land clearing and extremely reasonable purchase prices, they came in their droves, human and vampire. Within a few months, the,"

Niko paused and looked at the front door.

"What's wrong?"

"We have company."

"Good or bad?"

"Bad."

Brad stood and carefully pulled the curtain back, looking out at the front yard.

"I can see about five people, men and women. Walking up the footpath, they'll be here within seconds."

Niko stood, flicking his hand to Brad.

"I am not here. You do not know who I am and do not know that vampires exist. Demand that they leave. Do not let them into the house. Be forceful, be strong, and no matter what, do not let them see Evelyn."

"Or you," Brad murmured.

Niko smiled with a nod.

My heart was racing as the shadows darkened the glass panels on the door. They were little triangles that were shaped into a half circle, sitting above my head in height. The glass was an odd color yellow, almost mustard.

Carefully and quietly, Brad slid the safety chain over the door. When the person knocked on the door, I jumped. My hand flew to my mouth, holding back the squeak of shock. Looking at Niko, I saw an empty lounge.

Brad rallied himself. With a look of determination on his face, he opened the door.

"Good afternoon. My friends and I are looking for a gentleman that goes by the name of Niko Corbin. Is he free by any chance?"

"No one here by that name."

Brad pushed the door only to stop. I assume that the vampire stopped him. My position behind the door offered no view of what was going on.

"Forgive me, but I'm inclined to think that is incorrect. We have a reliable source that says it was only a matter of time before he was, uh, free, if you will, and we'd like to speak with him."

"I think that you need to get your hearing checked because I said that there is no one here by that name. Please leave."

"Brad, is it?"

He offered nothing but a frown.

"Perhaps we were not clear enough for you. We know that you are harboring Niko, and if you do not provide us with access to him, we will be left with no choice but to report this to our leader. That is something that you do not want as he will not be happy. He will come here personally, and then you and that darling niece of yours will be dead. Is that what you want?"

Brad didn't respond straight away. It was almost like he weighed up the options. I tried to make faces at him, but Brad didn't flinch, just looking at the vampire in front of him.

Would he hand over Niko to save us?