No one moved; he wasn’t sure if any of them even blinked as Quinn recounted the details of how her Hunter mother had been turned into a vampire when she was four months pregnant with Quinn. When her mother was six months along, Quinn had been born healthy and mortal, but she’d required a few drops of blood on a regular basis to survive.
She told them how she’d always been stronger than a normal Hunter, had grown faster and been healthier than any other human, and how the sun had affected her before she’d been turned into a vampire. Then she revealed how, between her Hunter heritage and her half-vampire birth, she’d required no blood from a vampire in order to make the transformation from mortal into immortal when Earl killed her.
The snapping of a coyote’s jaws on its prey could be heard from well over a mile away when she stopped speaking.
“A vampire not born of vampire blood,” the tall vampire said after more than a minute of silence ticked by. Mutters raced through the crowd when he put this piece of the prophecy into place for the rest of them.
“Yes,” Quinn replied. “A vampire, but also a Hunter. I trust them. They are my people too. When my mother killed herself, my aunt and uncle raised me with Hunter training, but they also kept me hidden away for fear of what someone would do if they uncovered the truth about me.”
“I was also a Hunter,” Cassie said in a clear, strong voice. “This man was my Guardian.” She indicated Luther with a wave of her hand. “He has stood by me through everything, including my change into a vampire. These Hunters gathered here are closer to me than family, and Lou is a young Guardian we rescued from the clutches of The Commission.”
“What power do you have?” a vampire demanded of Cassie.
Devon shifted as he surveyed the crowd. The tension radiating from him caused a few of the vampires closest to them to step back. Julian kept one eye on Cassie and the other on the crowd as he waited to hear what she would say.
“I can wield fire.” Not the whole truth, but not a lie either. “Extremely well, as you can see,” Cassie added and pointed to the rubble behind them.
“By joining with us, you will have more safety, security, and power protecting you than you ever had when The Elders were still alive. They didn’t care if you lived or died,” Julian said.
“And you do?” the tall vamp snorted in disbelief.
Julian looked him dead in the eye while he responded. “No, I don’t,” he knew honesty was the only thing any of these vampires would respond to, “but I care about her life.” He rested his hand on Quinn’s shoulder, drawing her closer. “I am willing to defend any who remain behind and agree to follow us. I will offer you protection if you get into trouble; we all will.”
The tall vamp tilted his head to the side. “What do you expect from us in return?”
“Any who agree to join with us will also agree not to kill humans or any other innocents from here on out. This goes for Hunters and Guardians as well as vampires. Murder, unless it is done for self-protection or to defend another, will not be tolerated. Anyone who breaks this rule will be hunted down and destroyed.”
CHAPTER 8
Quinn felt a spike of anger from the vampires as they whispered amongst each other. Some of them slipped further toward the back of the crowd. They were losing them, or at least some of them. They had expected as much, but it seemed too soon to already have some defecting. They had to keep them here until the vampires could hear everything they had to say. If they lost them now, they would never get them back.
She felt eyes on her and turned to meet the gaze of the giant near the front of the crowd. His steady brown eyes sized her up. She held his gaze with steely resolve before turning to face the group once more.
“This is a lot to ask of you, I know!” Quinn yelled over the growing noise.
The voices stopped the second she started speaking again. Beside her, Julian shifted closer, his shoulder turning so he could step in the way if someone came at her. She didn’t bother to try to wave him off, he wouldn’t budge, and right now she had to remain concentrated on the vamps.
“Remember, this is all based on trust on both sides. Eventually the Hunters and Guardians will be given your pictures, if you agree to it”—she was flying by the seat of her pants here, but she didn’t see why it couldn’t be done—”and that way, they will know when they meet you if you’re an enemy or not. But if you’re not killing innocents, then you’re probably not going to run into a Hunter or Guardian. They won’t be drawn to you, or your area unless they have a reason to be.”
“Will we be given pictures of the Hunters?” the giant inquired.
She didn’t have to think about that. “No. It would be too easy for those pictures to fall into the hands of vampires who don’t agree to this. It will put the Hunters at too high of a risk if we do that.”
“What if one of your Hunters or Guardians decides we’re all evil and goes rogue?” someone demanded.