from now on, they're the ness boys to me. all of them, except rhine.

"we'll take city center," rhine announces to the others. "everyone else spread out and take our regular routes. after hours, we'll slip into eastgate, see what's on."

many voices agree with varying degrees of accent, and the groups disperse. outside, the sky has fallen in dark shades of gray and purple. duel lampposts at the end of the crachan's drive are lit, illuminating the street beyond. i inhale, and a sensation of pure evil washes over me. different from edinburgh, but still evil. it's met with a sense of urgency, too. something else that i can't put my finger on. i'm sure it has to do with the fact that it all revolves around carrine and eli being the cause of it.

and that straight up makes me ill.

i close my eyes, inhale again, and let it out slowly. i gotta do this. i have to make things right. whoever is calling the shots for the killings, they have to be stopped. if eli's involved, and can't be saved . . .

my body shivers at the thought. panic wells up inside me for a moment. eli's face flashes behind my closed eyelids, and he's the old eligius. my eli. sexy. loving. noble.

then, in a blur, that face of his changes and he's the eli in hush 51, the same one with the hateful glint to those cerulean eyes i love so much.

"hey," rhine says. he's standing by my side, a good six inches taller, and seeming far older than his nineteen or twenty years. those knowing green eyes study me for a second. study me like he's known me longer than a few days. "you gonna be okay?"

i glance around me, up toward the darkening skies, and watch as the ness boys separate and start their routes. if a pack of humans are hell-bent on keeping their streets and innocents safe, then i can do no less than every single thing i'm capable of.

i decide to put my own desires aside.

the old eli wouldn't expect anything less.

my gaze returns to rhine's, and i give him an assuring nod. "i will be. when all this is over, and the killings are stopped, and this city is safe again, then yeah, i'll be okay."

his mouth lifts at one corner and the smile lingers in his eyes. "magic. let's get goin', then, aye?" he inclines his head toward the street.

i push my heavy heart aside and fill the void with sheer determination. we start off down the drive, four other ness boys behind us.

we're on a vampire hunt.

i have a feeling there'll be bloodshed from both sides.

part six

seductive foe

if my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour . . . you're going to see some serious shit.

-dr. emmett brown, back to the future, 1985

yeah, riley. i don't know her all that well, but what i do know, she doesna take much shite off no one. that includes me, miles, and more than likely, her bloodsucker boyfriend. as a human wi' tendencies myself, i can sense a power wi'in her that is unlike anything i've yet seen before. miles said she had fooked-up dna. i can goddamn well believe it. yeah, what i wouldna give to keep her.

-rhine macleod

we walk up and down the streets of inverness until well after ten p.m. rhine has gotten a few calls on his cell, but nothing panned out. we're making our way up high street for the umpteenth time, and i glance at the city center. newer buildings mixed in and side by side with the older ones; some with coned turrets, others with tall spires. all flat fronts with colorful store signs above the doors. and the ever-present double arches of mcdonald's gleaming golden yellow in the shadows.

"this time o' year we mostly have just the locals runnin' the streets," rhine says beside me as we walk. there're three of us on one side of the street, three on the other. i nod and glance at the patrons. foot traffic has definitely slowed down for the night, and most of the businesses are closed. "mostly university students," rhine says, and shoves his hands into the pockets of his brown leather jacket. he's wearing a dark blue skully, and it stands stark against his pale skin. "anything?"

i tune my hearing, keying it to a lower frequency, and i pick up only small bits of animal pulses, baby hiccups, and so many heartbeats it creates a low hum in my ears. i shake my head and look at him. "nothing out of the ordinary."

we're on the streets for another two hours before i see him.

at the far end of the sidewalk, standing against the building. the shadows swallow him, but i can see. i can smell.

it's eli.

beside him, carrine.

the moment she sees me, she smiles. my eyes drift to eli, and his gaze collides with mine. he stares at me, and that expression of recognition flashes in his eyes. carrine moves in front of eli, presses her body seductively against him, and i notice the muscles flexing at his jaw, and his brow furrowing. he looks angry. then all expression fades, his gaze clouds, and he widens his stance to accommodate her. his arms go around her waist as they start making out, and his hands grope her buttocks and pull her hard against his crotch. his soft moan rides the breeze and hits me in the gut. we're walking toward them, and my pace quickens. rhine's hand closes over mine, holding me back.

"don't," he warns. "wait."

no sooner does he say it than eli lifts his head and looks directly at me. we're about fifteen yards away when a young woman rounds the corner close to them. so fast i'm unsure it happens, carrine grabs the girl by the arm, pressing her between her own body and eli's, and when i blink, they're gone.

the young woman's heartbeat is racing. that much i can hear.

"fookin' a," rhine says under his breath, and starts to jog. i fight not to pass him. "so that's your bloody boyfriend?" he asks.

"yes," i answer. "and the female. carrine."

as we run, and round the corner, we find it empty except the long shadows stretching across from the buildings. rhine grabs his cell and makes a call. "at the eastgate shopping mall. round the back entrance." he ends the call and stuffs his cell into his pocket. at the same time, he withdraws a silver blade. the other ness boys from across the street have joined us.

"ready?" he asks me, and i nod. "good. we'll take the male alive if possible, aye?" he clarifies to the others. "but dinnae endanger yourselves, lads. us first. then him."

rhine grabs my hand and tugs me toward the alley. "this way."

squeezing between two buildings through a narrow cobbled close, we slip through the back of eastgate and rhine climbs the first-story fire escape. he glances back at me, still on the ground. i leap up to him. admiration glints off the streetlight shining in his eyes. "now?" he asks.

i listen closely; the human's racing heart is coming from within the mall. "still alive. in there."

rhine leads me up to the roof. i could have climbed and leaped a lot faster, but i would've had to just pace waiting on him. we breach the top and he leads us to a single door. it opens under his hand, and we hit the stairwell leading back down and into the mall. i don't even ask questions as to how he just opened a rooftop door to a public shopping center. i figure he's got connections.

inside the building, the human's heart races wildly. we exit onto the ground floor, and we're in some old-fashioned-looking market section. high wooden-arched beams peak like a cathedral above our heads. several shops, their doors closed and locked down, line the walk.

"the victorian market," rhine offers. "department stores and food court that way." he points. "which way?"

i listen. footfalls. faster. louder.

just then the young woman comes running from around the corner up ahead. her heart is floored, and the fright on her face, the sheer terror, drops my own heart to my stomach.

out of nowhere, a figure flies down and tackles her.

i leap. no thought. no process. only action.

vaguely, i notice rhine and the others hauling ass behind me. and others, around, swarming in. i focus on the woman and just as the male-not eli, just a rogue-drops his teeth, i lunge and knock him on his back. with my hands around his throat, i spare a quick glare at the woman. "run. toward those boys. they'll help you."

she simply stares at me, wide-eyed.

"go!" i yell.

something flashes in her eyes, and she scrambles up, whimpering, and the last thing i hear are the rubber soles from her hikers squeaking on the tile.

hoping rhine and the others deal with her, i turn my attention to the rogue. he's strong as shit, young. newblood. his eyes are red, flecked with yellow. his face is fully morphed, and as i hold his mouth away from me, his jaws are snapping like a goddamn rabid dog's. we struggle, fall backward, and he throws me against the wall. the moment my back hits i lunge back at him as he's darting away, heading for the running woman. i grab his ankle, yank him down. he's on top of me again, holding my hands pinned above my head. drool falls from his jagged teeth and onto my chest.

i focus, stare at his face until it becomes a pinpoint; then i suck in a long breath, and just as his head hurls toward my chest, i explode power. he flies off me and lands against the far wall. he's up and lunging at me, but now i've yanked my silver from my waistband. i thrust it into his heart as he falls against me.

the rogue drops to the floor, quivering.

done.

"riley!" rhine's voice yells from above me. i glance up. there are ness boys everywhere. as there are vampires everywhere.

it's hard at first glance to tell them apart.

at first.

then they're all perfectly crystal-clear.

males. females. i spot them now, scattered over the mall, hanging from the upper floor, pacing the food court. all young. void of heartbeats. void of emotion or compassion. vampires.

just like savannah, when my little brother, seth, was bitten by strigoi valerian arcos.

goddamn, i hate that they're so young. my eyes scan the upper floor of the mall. no sign of eli or carrine.