~ Ava’s concern about going to Pentorium fell on deaf ears. According to the others, the vampires would have to learn to play nice. They were all in this together, despite the conflicts of the past. Ava could not help but consider the fact that this mess was all of her doing. In her overzealous attempt at gaining equality for her people, she triggered a vicious war. Many died and from the ashes, a greater monster emerged. Two monsters. Make that four—the King, Sven, Salvay, and Passerini. Her actions had destructive consequences, and she could not blame the vampires for their inability to overlook the causes and effects. One had to be there to witness and understand the full extent of the devastation. With Marx unable to take point, she was at the front of the line. She was now Marx’s reluctant second in command. Ava was not sure when she inherited the t

~ Daniel stood over the body, Ava at his side.  “What does this sign mean?” he asked of Philippe, who was with them. “Purists.” Philippe zipped up the body bag, closing the corpse inside. The woman, a human, had her throat slashed, and a symbol carved with crude care into her chest. “Seems they are calling Vescovi’s bluff,” he said, standing. Nodding, he gave the coroner the go-ahead to take the body away. “A human found the body this morning, but Anabella is taking care of that.” “Things always get worse before they get better,” Daniel said. “I suppose so.” Philippe ran a hand over his mouth, watching after the coroner’s van as it drove away. “If you will excuse me, I have some other matters to attend to.” Dan

~ “I need you to relax,” Anabella said. She used her most soothing voice as she approached the man who was lying face down on the bed in the center of the room. “Don’t fight the connection.” Using a sedative to relax the man was not an option. It would cloud her connection, as it would cloud his mind. “Deep breaths.” Anabella’s nails lengthened. She positioned herself alongside the man. As her nails broke his skin, the man stiffened.  “Relax,” she said again. “Let me in.” The connection started, and all of his memories flooded her mind. Anabella had to focus on what she was looking for, minimizing the excess information. She was looking for everything that took place in the past forty-eight hours. The memories narrowed down. She saw the man walking into the kitchen kissing the top of his daughters’ head

~ Martha was out of her depths. She was used to wooden bowls and candles. Not class beakers and bunsen burners. Since being in the lab, she broke two of the former, along with a test tube, and she almost burned the place down with the latter. Philippe, though he would have to replace everything she broke, burned, or cracked, amused himself at her expense. He tried to hide it, but she saw the smile in his eyes even when he tried to look stern. Martha did not like feeling out of place. It took her a long time to feel as if she belonged among the others. All of them were fighters, and Martha couldn’t throw a fist straight. She was not good in a fight, and they were in the middle of a war. One they were now forced to fight on two fronts. She wanted to feel as if she was contributing to their efforts. The others

~ This was not what Ava expected to see. All around her, there was a war. Bodies littered the ground. A blackened spread of flesh and scorched earth. In the sky above the battlefield, shadows fought. A whirlwind of dark mist sparks of light flashing in random places, signaling death. On the ground, Ava saw Kunz. She stopped her advance, looking at the one man she feared. Fighting him were two werewolves. They were the only ones alive. With a wave of his hand, Kunz sent Marx flying. He landed a distance away in the litter of bodies strewn around. While Marx recovered, Penny was on Kunz, teeth, and claws. No amount of black magic armed her. The sounds she made… Ava felt a chill run down her spine. Ava raced over to Marx. He seemed surprised to see her. “You’re dead,” he said. “I saw it.”