“Connor Lazar,” the first vampire says.
“No,” I interrupt. “When you join the ranks of the Nocturna Animalia, you forsake any former familial ties. You may only have one name. No surname attached. Make it whatever you will, this is your chance to rebrand yourself, if you so wish it. One name. It’s all you get.”
“Then I’m Lazar,” he says.
“Good enough,” I approve. “Next?”
One by one, the others give me their names, some keeping their first, some keeping their last, yet others selecting wholly new ones.
I put each of the names in my mind, linking it to the face. I’ve never had any problems memorizing such things.
“Excellent,” I say when they’re finished. “I take it you’ve all been fed?”
“Not… exactly,” Victoria admits, coming beside me.
I turn to her. “What do you mean? If they haven’t fed yet they would not have such discipline. They would be going crazy for blood.”
“Consider it a demonstration of the rigor of their training,” Paul says, pride feeding his voice. “The vampires before you have each had half a cup of blood, perhaps less.”
“We were waiting for you to decide who they should feed on, James,” Victoria says. “That’s why we’ve kept the prisoners.”
“Well, let them at them!” I exclaim. “How many men are in the rooms? How many refused the offer?”
“About sixty, all in all,” Paul says. “Half of those I believe can be made to yet come over to our side. The other half?” He shakes his head. “They’re a lost cause.”
“Where are they now?”
“The ones who absolutely refused are gathered together in a large storage room. Come. I’ll show you.”
I walk with Paul back to his computer. He taps the keyboard and a video feed of a barren garage comes up.
Sure enough, there are about thirty men there, some huddling together in conversation, others looking absolutely indignant.
“How did you distinguish between these and the others?” I ask.
“We interviewed them,” Victoria says.
“Did they understand what refusal would bring?”
“Yes. But perhaps some did not think us serious.” She glances at Paul. “They may have thought this was some sort of test, to guarantee their loyalty to the Crusaders.”
“Who interviewed them?”
“I did,” Paul says. “Victoria helped. I know my men, remember.”
“And you’re sure these men won’t come over to our side?”
“We can make them into vampires, James. But why? Already we have many times the number we expected. Those who accepted the gift will be loyal. Those forced to it could later rebel.”
I give a small laugh. “You think a fledgling rebellion scares me? Most of the vampires in The Haven did not want to be turned. Mother did it anyway. They fought against their instincts, fought against the blood lust. They were not killers before. They did not want to be made into killers.
“But once they were, the dark instincts won out.”
“You sound like you’re interested in sparing their lives, James,” Paul notes.
“Nonsense,” I say. “I just don’t see the point of wasting so many capable men. These are the ones who were the leaders in your organization. The generals, the lieutenants, all those in posts of command, yes?”
“Not all of them,” Paul says. “We could not leave the Crusaders without leaders. But the majority, yes. When the new vampires return to their posts, we will bring in the rest.”
I tap my fingers against my lips. “On the one hand, this is a much better turnout than expected. On the other, if we throw those lives away—” I nod at the screen, “we will lose a whole lot of good men.”
“You’re being greedy, James,” Victoria says.
I turn to look at the fledglings, all standing in line, and ignore her. “And yet these vampires need to feed.” I sigh. “So be it. Paul, you are sure the men you’ve collected there won’t have their convictions changed?”
“Positive,” he says. “If you convert them, you will undermine the chain of trust that exists between us all. It is the basis on which the Crusaders were built.”
I rub my eyes. “Fine. Thirty men, fifty vampires. Let them at them.”
Paul smiles. “Very well.”
I address the fledglings. “When you drink,” I say, “leave enough for your brothers. The more different sources of blood you get, the faster your strength will develop. A sip from the necks of ten men does you more benefit than draining one man dry. Do you understand?”
They give a perfect salute and a shout of acknowledgement.
“Victoria,” I say. “You know this compound well enough to bring our vampires to the humans?”
“Yes,” she says.
“Then you lead them there. I want a private word with Paul while you’re gone.” I give her a secretive smile. “And don’t be shy to take some blood for yourself, either.”
She smirks, nods, and runs off. All the vampires follow her in perfect formation.
“Impressive structure,” I say, after they’re all gone. “Do you have any damn clothes in here?” I gesture at the bedsheets. “Hard to be taken seriously like this.”
“There are closets with uniforms nearby. I can take you there.”
“Please,” I say.
As we leave, I glance back at the screen, and see the first of the vampires start to feed on the humans.
I smile to myself. The carnage will be both a beautiful and horrendous sight.
Paul leads me past the first few doors, then sticks a key into a specific one and pushes it open.
“Clothes are in there,” he says, nodding to the side. “I’ll leave you to change.”
I’m out a second later. “What happened to my own clothes?” I ask, after I’m dressed.
“Destroyed in your magic outburst,” he says. “Singed and burned and rendered useless. Victoria threw them out.”
“Fine,” I say. “I want this uniform fitted to me.” I shrug my shoulders. “It has to be a perfect fit.”
“That won’t be a problem, James.”
I eye him up and down. “You’ve become particularly deferential. Why?”
“Do I need more reason outside the hierarchy?”
“You resented me before.”
He chokes back a laugh. “Resented? Hell, no. You gave me my life. I could not sense you, so at the beginning, it was hard taking orders from one so young.” He clears his throat. “I mean, one who looks so young. I’ve led a long life. Subordination does not come easy to me. But once I knew your power, it all clicked, and accepting my place was no longer a struggle.”
I consider the explanation for a few moments and decide it genuine.
“Very well,” I say. “When were you last in contact with Smithson? Is he on his way back?”
“Smithson… ran into some trouble,” Paul says.
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“We heard from him yesterday. The store of obsidian has been moved. Somebody in the Order did it without his knowledge.”
“What?”
“He says not to worry. He will make it to us in time.”
The tenor of Paul’s voice betrays his lack of confidence.
“Paul,” I say slowly. “You must understand. It is of utmost important that we get that obsidian. Cierra—you cannot imagine what she is capable of.”
“I’ve seen what you can do,” he says dryly.
“That is different,” I snarl. “I cannot control it. I know not how to control it! Cierra gave me thirty days, and that was two weeks ago! Time is running short to mount our defense. We need Smithson back. We need the obsidian!”
Paul appears uncomfortable seeing me so distressed.
“Never mind,” I say, shaking my head. “If Smithson says he’ll be back on time, then he will be. He knows the importance of this as much as I do.” I scrub a hand through my hair. “I just wish Melvin were still alive.”
“My son was a fraud,” Paul sneers. “All those things he tinkered with, all to absolutely no end. How does someone like that fall so far from grace?”
Screams echo through the enclosure from the human prisoners. At least my coven members are doing well.