On the Edge of Humanity

chapter 21


I WOKE UP HOURS LATER TO a suckling sound and tightness in my wrist. I jolted upright and screamed, trying to pull my arm away from the creature that had his teeth sunk into my flesh. Then someone pushed me back down onto the bed. My predatory instinct took over and I used all my power to sit up, but my dad was stronger than me.

“What the fu—Get him off me.”

“Jo, calm down. Please, it’s just Sam. He needs blood,” my father whispered.

Sam peered at me through hooded lashes while he sucked on my wrist. His eyes were liquid onyx.

I cocked my head to one side. My brother was alive. Oh my God! I wanted to jumped out of bed and hug him, but…

“It’s just gross. Please get him off me.” I wiggled, trying to sit up.

“If you move too much he’ll tear your flesh,” Dr. Vieira said from a distance.

“What happened to the bag?”

“He woke up and you were sleeping. You don’t wake a vampire in the middle of a deep sleep,” my father said.

“Huh?” He wasn’t making any sense. Did he think I would kill him if he woke me up?

Suddenly, my throat burned, my eyes shifted and hunger was boiling inside me, rising to the surface. Then my fangs shot through my gums.

My father must’ve noticed. “A few seconds longer.”

“I need blood,” I snapped.

“I know, sweetie.” Then he nodded at Dr. Vieira or used his telepathic link because Dr. Vieira tapped Sam on the shoulder.

Sam picked up his head and I jerked away my arm and grabbed my wrist. Before I could wipe the blood that dribbled out, the puncture holes closed before my eyes. I didn’t know if I was more shocked at how fast I healed or the sight of Sam sucking on my wrist.

“You know, you may not like waking up a vampire, but don’t let him do that again. I could have killed—”

Sam jumped on me. “You mean you were going to kill me?” He started tickling me.

“Hey, stop…stop…stop it,” I pleaded between laughs.

“Son, she needs blood. I’d get off her if I were you,” my father warned.

Sam jumped off me and onto his bed. I sat up. Blood smeared his lips and his eyes were now their normal forest green. The black circles beneath his eyes were gone, his pale complexion replaced with a hint of color.

Tears welled up and I tried to catch one as it fell.

My father beat me to it as he kissed me on the forehead. “I know. I’m happy too. Here.” He handed me another container of blood. “Drink this.”

I downed the blood as I kept my eyes focused on Sam, who was staring at me with his eyebrows arched and his head tilted to one side. There were so many questions leaking from his expression and I had a few of my own. Before I could open the floodgates to ask anything, glass shattered somewhere in the lab.

Dr. Vieira and my father flew out of the room. Sam and I followed.

What was going on?

As I stepped out, my father and Dr. Vieira disappeared into Ben’s room.

The floor outside his room was littered with glass. Did Ben break it?

When Sam and I reached the doorway, my father was trying to restrain Ben.

“I need to get the sedative, Steven,” Dr. Vieira said. “I’ll be right back.” He ran past Sam and me.

“You two get back in the room and close the door!” my father commanded.

Sam and I didn’t move.

“Now!” my father growled.

“I want to see her,” Ben said. “I’m not going to hurt her.” Ben began pulling and squirming, trying to get free from my father’s vampiric grip. “Please,” he cried.

He was shirtless with sweatpants covering his lower half. His stomach muscles rippled along every ridge, carving out a distinct six-pack. My mouth fell open and a twinge grabbed my stomach when a tingling sensation zipped through me. My gaze traveled up; his eyes met mine as he peered around my dad. There was confusion and sadness in his eyes once again. He tilted his head to one side, exposing the massive incision tattooing his neck. His pulse beat clearly behind it—not a good move to make in front of three vampires.

I inhaled and the same smells he gave off before wafted through the air. I couldn’t tell if I was more enamored with his physical appearance or the scent of his blood.

I covered my mouth as my fangs descended. I tore my gaze from Ben and glanced at Sam. He was glaring at Ben as if he didn’t know who he was. Then, as if in slow motion, Sam pounced. He leapt into the room as if he were a lion after his prey. He pushed away my father who landed against the left wall. Then he tackled Ben. Both skidded across the bed to the other side of the room, landing on the floor up against the back wall. Sam bared his fangs, ready to pierce Ben’s neck. As he dipped his head down, his fangs brushed Ben’s beating pulse.

I screamed.

“Sam, get off him,” my father shouted as he tore away pieces of drywall, trying to get out of the hole his body was stuck in.

Dr. Vieira came running back in with a syringe.

But it was too late. Sam had clamped onto Ben’s neck, sucking like a newborn on his mother’s breast. Ben wailed, throwing back his head, then he stopped.

I ran over to the gruesome scene. Ben eyes were closed and his body was limp. I stood over Sam, beating on him to stop.

“Son, let go. You need to let go.” My father wrapped his hand around Sam’s arm.

Dr. Vieira pulled off the cap from the needle with his mouth and stuck it into Sam’s shoulder. Within seconds, Sam’s knees wobbled and he slumped to the floor. My father carried him back to the other room.

I bent down, but Dr. Vieira stopped me. “No. Go with your father and close the door when you leave,” he ordered.

I didn’t move. Ben’s body looked as if Sam had drained all the blood out of him. Dr. Vieira picked him up and placed him on the bed. He wasn’t dead. His heartbeat thudded in my ears, although at very slow pace.

“I’m not going to bite.”

“You want his blood as badly as Sam does,” Dr. Vieira snapped.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to hurt him. I just want to make sure he’s okay,” I pleaded.

The doctor gave me a long look, then turned back to Ben. Blood dribbled from his neck as Dr. Vieira placed him on the bed. Then he pulled a bottle off the side table, opened the cap and tipped the opaque bottle over onto the gauze. Whatever solution was in that container was now healing Ben instantly. The puncture holes disappeared right before my eyes. What the heck? Was that a magic potion? Why wasn’t it healing the incision on his neck, though?

“Well?” I asked.

“He’ll be fine. But you need to get out of here,” Dr. Vieira said.

“No. How did those holes heal like that?”

Dr. Vieira’s head spun around, his eyes a penetrating black. “Did you just tell me no?”

“I’m not leaving.” I glared back.

He stalked over to me. “Young lady, I told you that when you’re in my medical facility, you will obey me. I wasn’t kidding.” He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back to my father in the other room. “Steven, keep your daughter in here. I don’t want her anywhere near Ben.”

My father stood up. “We’re leaving anyway. We’ll be in my apartment. Inform the team that I don’t want to be disturbed for the next few hours unless it’s urgent. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Dr. Vieira replied. “It’s better for me. I can tend to Ben without being interrupted,” he said as he glared daggers at me.

“Both of you come with me,” my father said as he stepped over the threshold.

Sam sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor as if he were in shock. I didn’t know if it was from the needle and its contents, or he was horrified with himself for attacking his best friend. Did he now know it was Ben? Had he known at the time who he was attacking? But then again, Sam was probably busy struggling with the whole vampire thing. I struggled with it when I first realized what I had become, and I’d made the choice. Sam hadn’t. Shit, I was still struggling with it. Whatever was tormenting Sam, I hoped that he could rise above it. Maybe this was a chance for both of us to start over without all the human drama we had in our life...though I had a sneaking suspicion that the vampire drama was just beginning.





Sam and I stood in front of the expansive wall of windows in my father’s apartment. Neither one of us said a word and the tension built. We hadn’t spoken on our trek here from the medical facility. All I kept thinking about was Ben, worrying if he was going to be okay. I couldn’t get the image of Sam attacking him out of mind.

Poor Ben. What were we going to tell Mr. Jackson? Your son was attacked by a horde of vampires, and Sam and I became vampires overnight. Oh and by the way, Sam tried to suck your son dry. I hoped Ben would heal fast, so we didn’t have to lie to Mr. Jackson, but I had an inkling we were probably going to have to start telling more white lies now that we were vampires.

“Why did you attack Ben?” I asked, staring at the prison building in front of me.

“I don’t know. I could smell him, his blood, his fear, and I was still thirsty,” he whispered.

“He’s your best friend. You can’t do that again.”

“You can’t tell me you didn’t want to do the same thing. I saw your fangs descend. I know you wanted his blood.”

Busted.



“So? Ben has been through a lot in the past week.”

“He knows about us?” Sam asked.

“He does now. He didn’t want me to change. He hated the idea.”

“How much does he know?”

“He found out about vampires when one was attacking me.”

I blinked and when I opened my eyes, Sam was standing in front of me, invading my personal space.

“Attacked you?” he asked.

“It’s nothing. I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I said.

Sam’s eyes bled to black as his face turned crimson. Then he let out a sigh, walked over to the window and sat down in a chaise lounge. He might be a vampire, but it seemed his anger issues had followed him into the immortal world.

“That building over there,” I pointed to the prison wing, “is where they keep prisoners.”

“What prisoners? Is there a war going on?” he asked innocently.

I couldn’t blame him for asking. After all, we were in a military compound, so for all he knew, we were now living on a different planet, in a different time.

“No war. Just some humans and vampires who were trying to kill us.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Is Neil over there?”

I shrugged. I didn’t know for sure where Neil was, but I knew my father didn’t want to talk about him.

“The last time I saw Neil was in a room downstairs. I’ve asked Dad about him, but he keeps telling me Neil is not up for discussion.”

“Stop. You called that man in the back room Dad.” He flicked his thumb toward the kitchen. “Why? How do you know for sure he’s our father?”

“Have you looked at the man? He looks just like you.”

“That doesn’t mean shit. He could be one of those bad guys.”

“Now there’s the brother I know. Paranoid as ever. It’s good to see you’re still the same person.”

“Jo?”

“Chill. He’s our father.”

“And how do you know that?” Sam asked. His eyebrows were knitted together.

“I wouldn’t have been able to turn into a vampire if Dad wasn’t our father. I needed his blood to change. Too complicated to go into detail right now, but it has to do with genetics. Now deal with it.”

He raked his hands through his hair and let out a sigh. I didn’t think my explanation or lack thereof convinced Sam. I had a feeling the topic would surface again.

“So, back to Neil, I said. “You asked if Neil was over in that building. Why would you ask that? The last you knew he was dead.”

“Sure, but I saw him outside some glass room. I was on a table and I kept waking up, but there was never anyone there to help me. Then the last time I remember waking up, I looked around and Neil was outside the glass wall with a camera in his hand. Then a flash went off and I passed out.”

My mouth fell open.

If Neil was there, then that meant he was a Plutarium, which would make sense because of the tattoo on his neck. It would also mean, though, that Neil was a mole. That was how my father got the picture of Sam and how he knew where Sam was. Bloody hell. Neil was actually trying to help us.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked.

“Neil is Dad’s mole.”

“Mole? He’s the janitor at our school,” Sam said.

“I don’t think so. As far as I know, Neil is a Plutarium, which are a group of ex-Navy SEALs who used to work for Dad. They went over to the dark side. They’re trying to take down the government or some type of military coup—big stuff. But it seems Neil has been secretly helping Dad, feeding him information about you and where you were.”

“So, why is he in that building?” Sam asked as he gazed out the window into the cloudy afternoon.

“Well, to make a long story short—”

A knock sounded at the door. Sam and I both jerked our heads toward it. Then we looked at each other.

My father wasn’t in the room. He had headed straight into his bedroom when we walked in earlier. He had told Dr. Vieira he didn’t want to be disturbed unless it was necessary. So whoever was standing on the other side of the door better pray it was important. I wasn’t sure what type of mood my father was in now, but when we’d left the medical wing, he had been foul, with him muttering while he walked behind us all the way here.

Another rap of knuckles pounded against the door, only this time it was louder. Suddenly, I remembered my dad’s comment about not waking up a sleeping vampire. I didn’t know if he was sleeping, but I didn’t want to find out what would happen. But before I could take two steps to answer the door, Sam jumped in front of me. I was pleased to see he was still the protective brother.

His eyes were wide, shifting his gaze from me back to the door. It was as if he was ready to attack or knew who was standing on the other side of it. Maybe I spooked him about the prisoners.

“Sam, it’s okay. We’re in a military compound,” I whispered.

What was I saying? I was just as worried, hoping the vampire on the other side of the door wasn’t one of the goons the Sentinels had locked up in the building across from us.

The bedroom door opened and my father walked out. “What’s wrong?” he asked, eyebrows pinched together.

“There’s someone at the door,” I added.

“Well, why don’t you answer it?” he asked as he pulled it open.

Webb stood with his hands behind his back, dressed in tan cargo pants and a blue t-shirt with the SEAL emblem in the upper left corner.

“He’s cool,” I whispered in Sam’s ear. “No worries.”

Sam didn’t move. He kept his protective stance, keeping his hands behind him touching my arms.

My father waved him in. “Enter, Lieutenant.”

“Commander, a word?” Webb asked, standing only just inside, not moving farther as if he were preparing for a quick exit.

“Sam, why don’t you shower? My bedroom is down the hall. There are clothes in my closet that should fit you.” My father pointed the way.

Sam glared at Webb, not moving. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but something had him agitated.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bedroom. “Go take a shower. Webb is a friend,” I said.

He looked at me. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

I nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

Why was he being vigilant? I wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t fighting for my life like when he rescued me from Cliff. Sure, I was almost poisoned, suffocated in a coffin and killed by my father’s sword, but he didn’t know any of that yet. I was beginning to think that the less he knew the better—at least for now.

Sam reluctantly walked down the hall to the bedroom. Webb seemed to relax, and made his way into the kitchen, leaning against the island. I sat on the couch while Webb and my dad began talking. I curled my legs under me and grabbed a magazine from the coffee table. I fanned the pages pretending to be engrossed in it, when the bedroom door opened.

I raised my head, amazed how quickly Sam had showered and dressed. Then my eyes widened and I drew in a sharp breath. Sam was holding a gun. His right arm was extended with his hand wrapped around the handle, finger on the trigger, the other hand supporting his right. Shock kept me glued to the sofa. What was he doing? Had he lost his mind?

Before anyone could move, Sam had the gun pointed at Webb’s head.

My father appeared calm, staring directly at Sam, hands up as if he were being arrested.

“Son, put the gun down,” my father commanded. “Webb is a friend. He’s just here to talk to me.”

As my father tried to coax Sam into giving him the gun, I jumped off the couch and over the coffee table barely clearing it. I ran the short distance to the kitchen, positioning myself next to my dad. I needed to get Sam’s attention. Apart from Ben, I was the only familiar face he’d seen since he had awakened as a vampire. He was probably scared and trying to protect me.

I swallowed and blew out a deep breath. “Sam, listen to me.”

He had the gun trained on Webb, hands steady. The way he held the gun with such precision and confidence made him look like an expert marksman.

“Webb is one of us, a good guy,” I said.

Sam’s eyes diverted from my father to me. “You say he’s our father, but I still don’t believe you. I don’t know who these people are. I don’t know who I am and what’s happened to me.”

“I know. I know what you’re going through. Put the gun down and I’ll explain. A lot has happened to you and me. But, these people—” I wagged my finger between Webb and my dad. “—are family. Please, let me explain.”

“He’s not.” He nodded at Webb. “He’s here for you.”

Webb’s eyes were slowly shifting from cobalt blue to a lighter gray. My stomach flipped a few times.

“What’re you talking about, Sam?” I broke eye contact with Webb and leered at my father.

If my dad could read minds, now would be the time to help me out.

“He came here to check on you. Don’t ask me how I know that, I just do,” Sam said as his voice cracked. “Something doesn’t feel right. I’m not even sure you’re my sister.”

I stepped around my dad and walked up to Sam. “Look at me.”

He kept his eyes focused on my father, gun still ready to shoot Webb in the back of the head.

“Sam,” I growled. “I want you to look at me, damn it! I’m still your sister. My hair color may have changed slightly, but look, I have a scar on my face from that night. I’m still Jo. Remember in the funeral home when we talked about some of the physical changes we were both experiencing?” I paused, waiting for him to nod or give me a signal that he remembered. Since he didn’t move, I continued. “You told me that your eyes changed colors. That was the start… We’re not human anymore. We’re vampires, but you’re still my brother and I love you. Now put down the gun. Webb isn’t going to hurt me,” I pleaded.

I wasn’t sure if the gun had bullets in it, or even if a bullet would kill Webb. Since I was only a couple of days into my new vampire body, I didn’t know a whole lot about my new species. Although I knew what Dr. Vieira had explained about how vampires could die, he didn’t mention anything about a bullet, but I didn’t want to take any chances and find out the hard way.

“Sam, please. Don’t do this,” I begged.

Webb stood still barely breathing. An electrical charge rose slowly around me, prickling the air. As a human, I started to experience weak electrical charges when I was close to Webb, but now, as a vampire, the charge was astronomically potent, making me squirm where I stood. Was it because of all the fear, anger and apprehension emanating off everyone? I guess I would learn what this electrical charge was all about in vampire school.

“No, honey, you don’t have to wait until school,” my father said, not taking his eyes off Sam. “The charge you feel is magic, lots of it.”

“Okay, that’s just wrong. You can read my mind?”

As if my father deliberately timed when he could read my mind, providing a distraction from the fact that Sam had a gun in his hand, Webb suddenly bent down slid to the side, clearing the way for my father, who then jumped over the island and grabbed Sam’s arm. The gun flew out of my brother’s hand, skating across the wood floor, stopping against the cabinet near the sidewall. I ran over to pick it up, but Webb beat me to it. I glanced up and Sam was encapsulated between my father’s arms. He dragged Sam over to the couch, released him and Sam fell backwards onto the cushion. As quickly as he fell backwards, he jumped and lunged for my father.

I turned on my heel and Webb grabbed me.

“Let them fight it out,” he said.

I didn’t want them fighting, but somehow I knew Sam needed to release some of his frustrations or whatever demons he was battling. Sam punched my father in the face, then the stomach, as if he were a punching bag. My eyes widened as I witnessed my father allowing Sam to beat him. He didn’t move, nor did he throw a punch. The fight scene reminded me of Sam swinging the bat at Cliff and how he practically beat him to a pulp. There was so much anger in Sam. Now I understood why Mr. Jackson had recommended an anger management class. I hadn’t seen it before; after all, my brother’s fights were always to protect me. But as the punches continued, I wondered if all his pent-up madness was directed more toward my father for not being around all these years.

As Webb and I observed the one-way boxing match, I asked, “Do you know what Sam was talking about?”

“No clue,” he said.

“So why are you here?” I asked.

“Top secret information,” he replied.

Somehow, I knew he was going to say that. The blue-eyed vampire still infuriated me.

After several minutes, my father grabbed hold of Sam and whispered in his ear. My brother dropped to the couch. What did my dad say to Sam? Maybe my father had a calming touch like Tripp.

My father retreated into the kitchen where he and Webb resumed their conversation.

“Hey, can I sit with you?” I asked Sam. I didn’t know if he wanted me around, but I braced my heart for his answer. This wasn’t how I imagined our reunion.

He nodded, so I plopped down. We both sat there in silence the only noise in the apartment stemming from the voices in the kitchen.

I tried to muster up words of wisdom, but I didn’t have any. What wisdom could I possibly convey to my brother? I was only a teenager, a young, naïve vampire teenager. I had gobs to learn about my immortal life. We both did.

“Do you still believe the man you tried to beat to death is not our father?” I asked.

“He looks like me. I’ll give you that. But I want more proof than just looks and what you told me.”

It didn’t surprise me that Sam needed proof. He wouldn’t be my brother otherwise. He was never that trusting of anyone or anything. I guess he had my father to thank for that.

“What did he say to you that made you calm down?”

Sam looked at me with soft eyes. “He said that he would prove he was my father and that he loved me.”

“He actually said he loved you?” Shock waves rumbled inside me. I had to pull things out of him and all Sam had to do was punch him a few times. Boy, it was going to take a supernatural miracle to erase my daddy issues.

Webb walked to the door and my dad followed him.

“No more disturbances until I give you the signal. Is that understood?” my father said in an unyielding tone.

“Yes, Commander.”

My father locked the steel door behind Webb, then joined us in the living room, sitting down in a chair opposite Sam and me. Sam had calmed down, sitting on the edge of a cushion, his head in his hands, probably contemplating his new life.

I was curious who was going to start the conversation. Here we were, the three of us, brought together by genetics and slew of other weird events, sitting in a military compound as vampires, not sure what to say to each other. The whole scene was surreal.

My dad cleared his throat, rubbing his jaw. The resemblance between Sam and Dad was uncanny, from the length and color of their hair to their physical build and facial features. From head to toe, I could barely tell them apart except my father was an inch taller than Sam. The creepy part for me was that Dad didn’t look old enough to be our father. I wondered at what age he had become a vampire.

“I’ll get to my age at another time. Right now—”

“Get out of my head,” I said as I glowered at him. “It really isn’t cool.”

“What’s going on?” Sam asked, lifting his head.

“Dad is the only vampire in the world who can read minds. At least that’s what Webb told me. He’s supposed to be the most powerful because of all his abilities that other vampires don’t have,” I explained.

“Can you read mine?” Sam asked.

“We’ll discuss that later. Right now we have other things to talk about.” He shifted in his seat. “Over fourteen years ago,” my father began, “when you both were just over a year old, your mother died of leukemia. I had come home on leave from the Navy to spend the last few months with her and to take care of you. Just after her funeral, I received orders to deploy to Afghanistan. The only family we had was your Aunt Terri, your mother’s sister. She didn’t want to take on two kids, but she gave in since I wasn’t going to be gone that long. I hated to leave, but the Navy said the mission would only last two months.

“As it turned out, the mission lasted more than a year. During that time, I requested and pleaded with my commander for leave to return home for a few weeks, but that request was denied. They needed me to stay with my team and see the mission through. I had been in contact with Terri explaining my situation, but during one of my calls home, we had an argument…a nasty one about your mother. You have to understand that Terri was an extremely bitter woman who hated me since the day I married your mother. She was the type of woman who relished holding grudges. She decided to call the state foster care system and turn me in for abandoning my children. Her excuse was that she was sick and couldn’t take care of you, and that you had no other family. That’s when the state stepped in and placed you in foster care.” He rose from the chair and walked over to the window.

Sam and I looked at each other, eyebrows arched. Sam was about to speak and I shook my head. I wanted my father to finish his story. I was afraid if we interrupted him, he would lose his train of thought.

With his back to us, he continued. “When I returned from deployment, I showed up at Terri’s house seeking answers to find you and take you out of foster care. But the person who answered the door informed me that she had died in a car accident a couple of months before and they had purchased the house from her estate auction. I contacted the state, but they just gave me the runaround. I provided them with all the necessary information—paperwork, birth certificates everything—but I kept getting passed from one person to another. I ran out of time before I had to deploy again and this time I was gone for two years. I had some of my military friends trying to investigate, but it was even worse for them trying to get information from the State of Massachusetts.” He turned around and met our gazes. His forest green eyes swam with tears, lots of them, spilling down his cheeks, which I imagined was the reason he had turned his back to us. “I truly am sorry,” he said as he eased himself down on to the coffee table.

“I don’t believe that you couldn’t find us in fourteen years,” Sam said in a questioning tone.

“After years of trying,” he continued, as if ignoring Sam’s comment, “between deployments, I was thrown another curve ball. It was at that time that Edmund Rain, who is now my enemy, formed a rogue team of ex-Sentinels known as the Plutariums. Edmund wants nothing more than to make me suffer for things he thinks I did to him. I decided then that it was better not knowing where you were. If I couldn’t find you, I knew Edmund and his team couldn’t either. It killed me to stop looking for you, but your safety came first. Then he recruited your Uncle Patrick, who also wants to take his own personal revenge against me.”

I suspected Sam was in a pool of confusion, not knowing who these people were. I was going to fill him in earlier, but then Webb showed up. I didn’t want to interrupt my father just yet. Sam, I imagined, would follow along for now.

“Come again?” Sam said. “You decided not to search for us because of this Edmund guy? And who is Uncle Patrick?”

I was surprised the name Patrick didn’t ring a bell with Sam. After all, Patrick was the one conducting lab experiments on him.

“You don’t know who Patrick is?” I asked. My voice hitched a notch.

He shook his head.

“Patrick is my half-brother. He’s the one responsible for draining you of your blood. In the United States, he is well known as Dr. Patrick Mason, genetic scientist and researcher. He wanted me to help him concoct a serum to turn him into a vampire. His goals became more selfish the older he got, but he had lost his chance of immortality years ago. As a human, Patrick had no reason to learn our vampire laws, but they are strict on making the change, becoming immortal. If I helped him, I could’ve gone to jail, or worse—been put to death. As it is, I’ll have to explain to my superiors what happened with both of you and why you two are now vampires.” He laced his fingers together and placed them against his lips.

“So why are we vampires?” Sam asked.

I looked at my dad and caught his gaze. He nodded at me. Was he trying to tell me that he wanted me to explain this part to Sam? I wasn’t sure that I could remember all the medical lingo behind it. Before I could mutter a word, Sam broke the silence.

“Well?” he asked.

“You were dying,” my father replied as he looked at me. “It was Jo’s decision.”

I blew out a breath. “I had to…to…become a vampire to save you,” I added.

Sam peered at me with a doleful expression, as if he were trying to tell me I shouldn’t have saved him. My heart splintered into a trillion pieces as tears pooled in his eyes.

“So,” Sam said, now looking at my father, “did your brother get what he needed when he used me as his lab rat?” Sam asked.

“He may have learned a lot by studying you in the short time you were under his microscope, but he did not get his hands on the final, most important piece,” my father replied.

“Patrick needed Dad’s blood to complete his experiment,” I added, my voice cracking.

“Where is he now?” Sam asked.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier. They’re in that building over there.” I turned and pointed at the prison as I had earlier.

There was so much Sam needed to learn and so many questions I had for him, let alone my father. But we mostly needed to bring Sam up to speed on what had transpired during the past week.

Sam listened intently as we explained the vampire genetics, Patrick’s motives, the Jupiter Sentinels and their role, our father’s role and the Plutariums. My father explained to Sam that there were vampire laws and that they would all be punished in some way. I went on to explain how Ben had helped me and how he ended up in the medical facility. After a couple of hours of talking and explaining, it was my turn to ask some questions. I had one question for Sam that was burning a hole in my brain.

“Do you remember who kidnapped you?” I asked as I bit the inside of my cheek.

Sam looked at me then at my father and said, “Cliff Birch, the a*shole who tried…you know…”

I cringed at the name. Oh I knew. I knew all too well. I raised my hand to my face and traced the outline of the scar.

“What did he try?” my father asked.

Sam jerked his head toward me. “You didn’t tell him that part?”

Was he serious? I just met my father and while we had a jillion things to talk about, Cliff wasn’t the first thing that came to mind. In fact, if Sam hadn’t brought it up, I would’ve stuffed that topic so far down into the earth that the creepy crawlies would eat it, destroying anything related to Cliff and that incident.

I dropped my gaze to the floor as my heart pounded against my chest. I thought back to that night and the pervert’s hands on me and I shivered. I took in a deep breath and lifted my gaze. My father’s eyes had silvered and he was glaring at me. Oh shit! I didn’t have to ask why his nostrils were flaring. I imagined he had read my mind.

In that instant, my father stood up, picked up a glass from the coffee table and threw it across the room where it fractured into minute crystals against the wall. A few more inches and I was certain that it would have blasted through the window.

I jumped a mile and Sam took hold of my hand. I made a mental note to talk to Sam about it later. After today, I didn’t want the topic coming up ever again.

“Hey, Pops, I took care of the creep,” Sam said.

“Not well enough,” my father growled. “I want his head on a spike.”

God, I hoped he wasn’t serious…or did I?

“Webb said vampires don’t kill humans,” I said.

“This human world continues to see more violence every day. And it’s humans like him who need to be taught a lesson.”

I wanted to laugh, then scream. Humans weren’t the only ones creating violence in this world. The vampires had their own drama and chaos that seemed to be out of control.

My father calmed a little, releasing a deep breath. “This isn’t over with. I will see to it that Cliff is punished, not only for what he did to Jo, but his involvement in Sam’s kidnapping.”

A shiver crept up my spine. I wanted to punish Cliff too. In fact, I secretly wanted him dead. At the sound of his name, my body ached to take my own revenge against him, and to pay for what he did to me and maybe other girls. The sole purpose of losing my humanity was to save my brother, although perhaps becoming immortal might allow me to help humanity and do something substantial in this world, since I had an eternity to do it. Maybe this would be my chance to save other foster kids from his disgusting ways.

While the thought of revenge sang to me, this wasn’t the time to air my unearthly thoughts on how to punish Cliff. Right now, I wanted to change the subject.

“Dad?” I said the word softly, afraid he might bite off my head.

He narrowed his eyes and it looked as if he were going to chew a hole in the side of his cheek.

“You said when Sam made it through you would explain something about school.”

Sam’s head jerked up and his mouth fell open. “We’re not going to school. We’re vampires now.”

I laughed. “You don’t think vampires go to school?” I laughed again. “I know why you don’t want to go back. You don’t want to go to anger management class.”

His eyes shifted, losing their brilliant green color. “Shut up.”

My father dropped his jaw. “Is there something you’re not telling me, son?”

“After I strangle my sister, there’s a lot you and I need to catch up on, Pops,” Sam said, glaring at me with liquid onyx orbs.

Vindication was a sweet thing. “Now you know how it feels,” I said.

“What did I do?” Sam asked so innocently.

“Never mind. So what about school?” I asked, looking at my dad.

“Once I clear up a few things around here, I’ll make the appointment for us to visit St. Anne’s Academy, which is here in the city. Your first year as a vampire is going to be rough, especially around humans, and St. Anne’s is a school designed for young vampire teenagers who have made the change early. Plus, both of you have to learn about our species and the laws we live by,” he said.

Sam and I burst out laughing.

“You both think that’s funny?” my father asked.

“Do you realize the weirdness of vampires going to a school with the word saint in it? Is this some sort of Catholic school?” Sam asked.

I still couldn’t speak. All I kept thinking about were uniforms. The name implied so much more than just Catholic. Plus, were there that many vampire teenagers in Fall River? I shook my head as if I were a dog shaking off water. No way. I refused to believe any of this. What about the school we used to go to?

“Sorry, sweetie, public school with all those humans is not a place for you or Sam to be, no, no, no.” My father was shaking his head in a deliberate side-to-side motion.

Did I just say that out loud?

“You read my mind, again?”

“I guess I did.”

“Please, stop it!”

“I’m actually surprised I can read yours, though. I usually can’t read anyone’s mind unless I’m touching them. I’ve only been able to read one other person’s mind without touching them.” He raked his hands through his hair then rubbed his jaw. His cheeks looked pale, as if the blood had rushed south—not a good sign.

“And me?” Sam asked, taking in a deep breath.

“I can when I touch you, son. But with Jo it seems I don’t have to be touching her.”

“That’s what every teenager wants to hear,” I blurted out.

“No need to panic,” my father said.

“Easy for you to say. I don’t want to be mind raped every time I see you.”

“Jo, that’s a bit of an overstatement,” my father said.

“Yeah, Pops. Hands off me,” Sam added.

“Look, you two, usually I’m good at controlling when I read someone’s mind. But—”

“You said there was one other person’s mind you could read without touching. Whose is it?” I asked.

“My father’s…and he was stronger and more powerful than me.”

He was starting to scare me.

“What does that mean, Dad?” I asked.

Telepathic connections, now mind reading—what’s next?

“I need to make a few phone calls. There’s human food in the kitchen. If you need blood, let me know. And don’t leave the apartment.” He rose, then turned. “And one more thing. Webb said Ben is going to be fine. You’ll be able to see him tomorrow.” He stormed down the hall disappearing into his bedroom.

I sat, stunned at the shakiness in his voice, which made my blood stop for a second. I was confused about his father being more powerful than him. What did that mean? Was there a correlation between my grandfather and me?

“Hey, you alive in there?” Sam asked, waving a hand in front of me.

I blinked. “I was just thinking.”

“So Ben is going to be okay,” Sam said with a hint of sadness in his voice. “Do you think he’ll forgive me?”

“I’m not sure. Ben has had a hard time accepting that vampires exist.” I didn’t want lie to Sam and tell him Ben would forgive him. With Ben’s moodiness, I couldn’t gauge how he would react to Sam attacking him, let alone, the fact that Sam was a vampire. Ben hadn’t wanted me to change, so I had my own issues with smoothing things over with Ben. “We’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

Quietness filled the room as I sat next to Sam, staring out the window, thinking about how our life had changed in just two weeks, how our journey began because of a mortal creep like Cliff. Should I thank him or kill him?



I closed my eyes and shook my head a few times. The person I needed to thank was Neil. He was the one who really saved Sam. If it weren’t for him, we would still be searching for Sam. I squeezed my brother’s hand and silently thanked God for his return, even though it was as a vampire.

I stood up to stretch my legs when Sam grabbed me.

“I still have one more question for you.” His voice was sullen. “If you had a choice to stay human, why didn’t you?”

The blood rushed to my feet. How could I tell him that I came real close to staying human? Of course, that would have meant he wouldn’t be sitting in front of me and asking me that question. Would he understand how I struggled with my decision? I had sacrificed my belief in humanity, in growing old and living life as a human and not drinking blood as my main meal. My legs quivered so I eased myself down to the coffee table.

“Well?” Sam asked. His gaze burned through me, watching my lips, waiting for an answer.

“I did it to…save you,” I replied as I looked down at the carpet.

He touched the bottom of my chin and guided it up. His eyes looked directly into mine, probing for the truth.

“You don’t believe me?” I asked. I tried to look away, but he kept his hand on my face.

“I know how you hated anything to do with vampires, especially the blood part. So, yeah, part of me believes that you were forced. Maybe for his benefit.” He notched his head toward the hallway.

It was as if someone had driven a knife through my heart.

“I promise you, I did it for you, for us. In fact, I waited too long to make my decision. You were dying by the time the Sentinels rescued you, a heartbeat away from a human grave.”

“Then you should’ve let me die,” he whispered.

“I wanted to stay human…I didn’t know what you would’ve wanted me to do...if humanity was something you cherished or not. But when I saw a picture of you in that glass room, I wanted to die. My whole world imploded. I didn’t realize until then that life meant nothing without you in it, even if it was lived as vampires. Then the more I got to know the vampires around here, the more I thought it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe we could do some good in the world. But more than anything, I knew if I were lying on a table in a glass-walled room, fighting for my life, you would’ve saved me.” I stared at him, holding my breath, waiting for a response, confirmation that he accepted the decision I had made for him.

He reached around and pulled me into a bear hug. His arms wrapped me in a blanket of warmth, protecting me. “I just needed to make sure we were connected. You’re right. I’d do anything to save you, to protect you and I’ll always be there for you. I love you, Jo,” he whispered.

I snuggled deep into his chest, relief washing over me as he whispered those last words. I didn’t want to move, I wanted to stay wrapped in my brother’s protection for a long time.

There were still a lot of unanswered questions about our uncle, the Plutariums, Ben and Neil, not to mention our father and school. But immortality meant lots of time to figure out the answers.

Maybe Sam and I had a new life to begin, albeit a vampire life, which meant new laws, new rules, new skills and vampire manners that were a prerequisite before we could exist among humans. But none of that mattered. For now, I had my brother back and I wasn’t letting go.