Sergio looked out the window and sighed. "They're not moving."

Jeff looked up from where he sat on the floor cradling Samantha in his arms. He had used his

jacket to staunch the flow of blood from her wound and now it was being used as a makeshift

bandage. He could see the pain etched on her face and she looked very pale. As soon as she had

been stabbed with a sword, Sergio had yanked her back into the house and slammed the door

shut.

The dead remained outside in terrible silence. They were just standing there, emaciated,

gnarled dead things, waiting for the night to come. The Summoner's power infused them with

unnatural resilience, and the mortals' four attempts to shove through them to the truck had

resulted in the living being pushed back by the dead. The four humans all bore wounds now.

They were bloodied, dirty, and exhausted. And trapped.

No matter how many of the dead they hacked apart, The Summoner's minions kept coming in

a great wall of dead, dry flesh. The Summoner's own black magic infused the corpses and it was

his will that had the dead pushing the living back into the house. The four humans had all felt the

dark power within their opponents.

The Summoner wanted them here.

He wanted them trapped.

“It's like night of the fucking living dead,” Sergio said grumpily.

His grandmother was in the other room, sitting next to the closet door, talking to Amaliya,

trying to reach her through the vampire sleep.

“At least they are not trying to get in and eat us,” Samantha said in a raspy voice.

“No, they just stab us with swords from the freakin 'Civil War,” Sergio responded with

frustration.

They were all hungry, they were tired, and they were scared. Jeff couldn't hold Sergio's

moodiness against him.

“You would have thought we would have noticed the graveyard in the back of the house,”

Sergio said after a long moment of silence.

“It is behind that line of trees. How could we know?” Jeff answered, but they had been foolish

and they knew it. They had been so desperate to rescue the vampires and escape they had not

been thorough enough. They had all overlooked the overgrown graveyard tucked behind the

house.

Sergio sighed and stepped away from the window. “And no one can see the dead from the

road because of that line of the trees. Plus who the hell would be out here anyway? It's so off the

map.”

“That's why he chose it.” Jeff looked down at Samantha. She looked so frail and pale. He had

no idea how bad the internal damage was, but the sword had gone through her upper chest. His

fingers lightly stroked her fevered brow and he sighed softly. Her breathing sounded very wrong.

“He'll come as soon as the sun goes down, won't he?” Sergio said in a sad voice.

“Yeah.”

Sergio sat down on the rotted floor and let out a long sigh. “Man, this sucks.”

“Yep,” Samantha said as she drifted back into consciousness. “And all the crosses are in the

truck.”

“We could try again,” Sergio said looking toward the door.

But they all knew that the thick wall of the dead waited for them. Impassable and dangerous.

“Or we can just wait for a miracle,” Sergio offered.

No other option seemed viable.

And so they waited.

* * *

Amaliya woke up long before dusk. She came into consciousness abruptly and felt disoriented

by her surroundings. Her hand throbbed painfully and she looked toward where it was gripping

the doorknob tightly. Slowly, she remembered. Then she heard the voice of her Grandmama

whispering softly outside the door.

“...and we're trying to make sure you're safe, Amal, but they are all around the house and we

can't get through. They hurt Samantha real bad and I think she's dying...”

Slowly, Amaliya pushed the heavy satin off her and looked around the closet. The sun was

pushing through a few cracks in the door, but the narrow beams were high above her. The light

illuminated the narrow closet enough that she could see Cian was unconscious. His wounds had

not healed at all and she touched his face lightly. He did not stir.

“...I can feel his power and I'm afraid. I keep praying that God will see us through, but I don't

know what to do. I tried to speak to the dead, but he fills them. This is much scarier than the

movies...”

“Grandmama?” Her voice sounded raw and the dark need swelled inside of her. She needed to

feed soon.

“Amal! Are you okay? We're here! We came to rescue you, but the dead are outside and they

won't let us escape!”

Amaliya managed to get to her knees and dared to peek out of the keyhole. Her grandmother's

eye came into view. She was staring right back at Amaliya.

“What time is it?”

“Six-thirty, baby.”

Two hours until sunset. Shit. Not much time.

“You okay, Amal?”

“Yeah. Okay as can be. Cian is still asleep. He's wounded pretty badly. How did you find us?”

She was having trouble wrapping her mind around the reality that her grandmother was actually

here.

“Sergio and I went to Austin when you didn't answer your cell phone. We met with Samantha

and her friend, Jeff. He's a vampire hunter.”

“Samantha knows a vampire hunter?” Amaliya blinked. “Okay. That's just weird.”

“And we went into the apartment and saw the map on the computer. So we came here. We

saw some dead people guarding this place so we came in and found you. After we killed the dead

people...again.”

Amaliya almost laughed, but she could hear the dread in her grandmother's voice. “Then what

happened?”

“There is a cemetery behind the house. And it looks like they all got up and came to visit. We

can't get out of the house or they attack us and drive us back inside. They hurt Samantha really

bad. I think she's dying.”

Despite the animosity that lay between them, Amaliya felt a pang of anger and regret.

Samantha was a firecracker and annoying as hell, but she loved Cian. If she was here, it was out

of love for him and Amaliya could not fault her for that. As these thoughts flitted through her

mind, she sighed, feeling guilty for her own involvement with Cian. She ran her fingers over the

door slowly and leaned against it wearily.

“Is the sun coming in?”

“Yeah, it is. But the kitchen hallway is kinda dark. Do you want to come out?”

“Yeah. We need to plan before dark comes,” Amaliya hesitated as she considered the weight

of her next words. It was hard for her to admit, but it was the truth. “I may be the only thing that

can stop him since I have some of his power.”

“Okay. Let me get Sergio and Jeff and see if they can help me block out the sunlight so you

can come out.”

Amaliya listened to her grandmother's light footsteps dart away from the closet. She leaned

over and kissed Cian's forehead. He was very cold and she could feel death in him. He was

significantly weakened and he would need to feed. But the only people he could feed off of were

the people who had come to rescue them.

“Shit,” she whispered. As usual, her luck was bad, and now it had infected the others who

were in her life.

But last night she had defeated the gruesome creatures that had come up against her and if she

could just figure out how she did it, they would be home free.

* * *

It took some time, but Jeff and Sergio were able to block the windows and cracks in the walls

with broken furniture, old curtains and even pulled down paneling off the walls in one room.

Finally, they had blocked the sun enough to allow Amaliya to emerge from the closet. She

slipped out holding what looked like a satin dress over her head and moved into the area they had

prepared for her. She was greeted with hugs and kisses from her family, then they retreated from

her as she slunk toward the darkened corner.

Jeff had to admit she looked nothing like he had expected. He supposed Samantha's bias

against her had painted her into a darker figure than she really was. The face framed by the long

black hair was more unique than pretty and her tattoos and piercings didn't look shocking to him.

Just rather Austin. She was wearing dark jeans and boots and a t-shirt that probably belonged to

Cian. Sitting down cross-legged, she looked around the room they had barricaded and the four

people gathered in the room.

Jeff sat next to Samantha, who had fallen asleep again. Her breath was ragged and she was

burning up. Innocente had Samantha's hand between her gnarled ones. Sergio drew close to his

cousin and reached out to touch her pale hand.

Amaliya took Sergio's hand gratefully. “We need to plan.”

“Cian looks out of commission for a while yet,” Jeff said, looking toward the closet.

“He's badly wounded. Roberto turned on us and stabbed him several times with a silver

dagger. He's not healing,” Amaliya said softly. Her striking blue-gray eyes were glittering in the

murkiness of the room. Her voice was distinctly East Texas.

“What happened last night? Tell us,” Sergio urged.

And Amaliya did. She told them all about her battle with the undead monsters The Summoner

sent against her, and about Roberto's betrayal. She told them about their escape in the morning

and how she had briefly seized control of the dead from The Summoner.

“Can you do that now?” Jeff asked excitedly.

“I don't even know how I did it,” Amaliya sighed. “I really have no freaking clue.”

“But you can try, right?” Sergio looked at her desperately. “We have to get out of here before

nightfall.”

“He'll use your family against you,” Jeff added.

Innocente looked up fearfully. “I don't like this vampiro at all.”

“None of us do,” Amaliya said in a soft voice.

“Try, Amal. Try to send them away,” Sergio urged her.

Jeff could see the fear in the vampire's face, but she nodded. Closing her eyes and lowering

her head, she fell into silence. Jeff held his breath as he felt the tendrils of her power snaking out

of her body. Samantha shivered in her unconscious state and Innocente ran her hands over her

own arms as she obviously felt chilled. Sergio drew his hand back and looked very unnerved as

cold, feathery touches of her power flowed around them.

“I'll go see if it's working,” Sergio said in a hushed tone and hurried out of the room.

Jeff's hand swept over Samantha's hair as she slowly stirred. “Is he here?” Her eyes were full

of fear and she gripped his arm tightly.

“No, no. Amaliya is trying to send them away.”

Samantha's gaze flicked toward the vampire in the darkened corner. “How is Cian?”

“Wounded, but alive,” Jeff answered, and smiled at her.

Samantha's eyes welled with tears and her clammy little hand held on to him tighter. “We

have to get out of here.”

“We're trying.”

Sergio ducked back into the room and shook his head. “They're not moving.”

Amaliya opened up her eyes slowly. A sensation like a frozen silk scarf being yanked over his

flesh sent chills down Jeff's back as she withdrew her power.

“Fuck.”

“You tried, Amal,” her grandmother said in a consoling voice.

“I'm weak,” Amaliya said. “I need to feed soon to be strong enough to face him.”

Jeff knew he wasn't the only one who froze. He swallowed hard and looked at Sergio and

Innocente. They were looking at each other with uneasy expressions. Jeff rubbed his hand lightly

over Samantha's trembling fingers.

“Feed her,” Samantha whispered through her dry lips.

“Huh?” Sergio exclaimed with a double take.

“She's our only hope. To get out. She needs to be strong enough to face him if Cian...if Cian

can't.” Samantha was looking worse and Innocente gently rubbed the girl's wrist.

“I can feed just enough to make myself strong. I have that control. Cian taught me,” Amaliya

said after a very tense moment of utter quiet.

“I'm game if you'll give Samantha some of your blood,” Jeff said after careful consideration.

He knew vampire blood could extend Samantha's life.

“Eww,” Samantha uttered.

“What will that do? Make her a vampire?” Amaliya looked uneasy.

“No. Give her some of your blood and...” he hesitated, “lick her wound.”

“Double eww,” Samantha whispered.

“I'm kinda with her on this,” Amaliya said with some distaste.

“It will make the wound heal and keep her alive,” Jeff said in a firm voice. “Just like Cian

kept Roberto alive for a hundred years with his blood.”

“I don't want to be her servant,” Samantha protested.

“What she said,” Amaliya said.

“Just feed her once then,” Jeff said in a short tone. He knew Samantha was starting to fade

fast, as was their chance of getting out alive.

“Do it, Amal, if it will keep her alive,” Innocente urged.

“Yeah, do it. Then you can have some of my blood,” Sergio decided. He folded his arms

across his big chest. “Yeah. Do it. She came here to save you.”

“Cian,” Samantha corrected. “I came to save Cian.”

Amaliya laughed lightly at Samantha's comment. She knew the other woman couldn't stand

her, but she rose to her feet. “Fine. But I can't promise you guys that I can beat The Summoner.”

“No, but we don't have many options,” Jeff answered, and looked down at Samantha. He

didn't want her to die.

Amaliya nodded and came over to them. Innocente took the dress, stood and spread out the

skirt over their heads with her hands as a precaution against the sunlight. Under the makeshift

umbrella, Amaliya leaned over Samantha.

“I know that I'm not your favorite person, but I'm doing this 'cause it's right,” Amaliya said.

Samantha looked at Jeff. “I'm going to kick your ass later.” Her voice was raspy and full of

pain, but her words made Jeff smile.

“I know.”

“I'm Amaliya,” the vampire said to him, extending her hand.

“Jeff Summerfield.”

“The vampire hunter,” Amaliya said with a wry smile. “You are definitely going to have to

tell me how you two hooked up later.”

Jeff smiled back at her. “Sounds good.” He could see how Amaliya had intimidated

Samantha. The longer he looked at her, the more alluring she seemed.

Amaliya carefully untied the makeshift bandage and looked at the deep, nasty wound it had

covered. The blood was black and bubbly over the wound and Jeff could see hunger spring into

her eyes.

“What do I do?”

“Give her some of your blood, then lick her wounds closed,” Jeff answered.

Amaliya looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then shrugged. “Okay.”

* * *

Amaliya leaned over Samantha. “Never thought it would be like this between us.”

“Oh, shut up,” Samantha answered and rolled her eyes.

Amaliya could feel Samantha's life fading and she felt sorry for the girl. She really wasn't too

bad, just rather zealous when it came to her boyfriend. But then again, that passion had brought

her family and Jeff to their rescue. She owed it to the girl to save her.

“Okay, let's do this,” the vampire said.

She let the bloodlust fill her and felt her body pulse with the erotic pleasure of it. Her teeth

ached as they descended, sharp and ready. She quickly bit into her own wrist, feeling the sharp

pain of her action. Holding her torn wrist over Samantha's mouth, she rubbed her flesh to get her

cold blood to run out.

“Gross,” Samantha managed to mutter and the blood trickle hit her lips. She almost jerked

away, but Amaliya grabbed her chin with one hand.

“Drink,” she ordered and held her dripping wrist firmly over the young woman's mouth.

Samantha weakly responded to her order and Amaliya felt Sam's lips locked over the wound

and drink for a few wonderful tantalizing moments.

As Samantha drank, Amaliya craved Cian but knew she had to keep her bloodlust in check.

She pulled her wrist away and drew her tongue over the wound, willing it to heal. Such an action

would drain her a bit more of blood and power, but there was a feast waiting for her.

Before Samantha could protest, she fastened her mouth to the terrible wound over Samantha's

left breast and tasted the infection. It was gross and she spit it out, but the blood just below the

surface called to her. She pulled hard on the wound with her lips and the dark blood slowly gave

way to richer, redder vitae. She drank only enough to clear out the wound and refresh herself

from what she had given Samantha. She drew her tongue over the ragged edges of the wound

over and over again until she felt it knitting shut. It should have been repulsive, but her body

reacted as though it was the most erotic of actions.

“This shouldn't be kinda hot, right?” Sergio said behind her.

That broke the moment and Amaliya laughed as she drew back.

Samantha managed to give Sergio the finger, but she already looked better. There was color in

her face once more.

Amaliya stood up and stretched out her body. The few sips she had taken were already

revitalizing her. With a sly smile at Jeff, she said, “Next.”

Nervously, he stood up.

“Don't worry,” she said in a comforting tone. “I'll be gentle.”

And she was.

* * *

Nightfall came too soon. Even though Amaliya was now well fed, she didn't feel ready to face

The Summoner. As the sun descended, she felt her body growing more alert and she welcomed

the feeling. They knew The Summoner would be coming soon and they had prepared the best

they could.

Samantha was on her feet and her wound was nearly completely healed. She was stronger,

much to everyone's relief. There was an uneasy truce between them now and she could tell

Samantha was uncomfortable with what had passed between them. Amaliya wasn't a fool. The

pleasure she had felt had gone both ways and it made them awkward with each other.

Innocente had pulled out some granola bars from the tote bag she kept clutched at her side and

the mortals had eaten. There was actually a pump in the kitchen and Sergio managed to get the

water to run clear after a few minutes. Everyone looked bedraggled and anxious and Amaliya

didn't blame them.

They gathered in the bedroom where Cian slept in the closet to prepare for The Summoner's

arrival. They had talked about trying to feed Cian as well, but instinctively Amaliya knew his

wounds were too dire and he would need her blood. And she could not risk her blood until The

Summoner was vanquished.

Samantha and Jeff seemed cozier than they both realized and Amaliya watched them

thoughtfully as they took up their positions. Samantha was clutching a baseball bat tightly and

Jeff had a machete. Sergio had a piece of wood with rusty nails beat into one end of it like a

makeshift mace. He had expended all his bullets trying to shoot his way through the crowd of the

dead. Innocente had a machete in one hand and her tote bag over her shoulder. Amaliya was sure

The Summoner would hate the Virgin of Guadalupe t-shirt her grandmother wore. It made her

shiver every time she drew near it.

As she felt the sun about to slide down under the horizon, she knelt down beside Cian. Her

hand rested on his chest and she waited.

He took a deep breath and his eyes flashed open. It was not a good sign that his teeth were

sharp and cruel behind his lips. His hands lashed out and gripped her tightly. Those beautiful

hazel eyes were full of hunger and desperation. His gaze darted over the room beyond Amaliya.

“Where are we?” he hissed.

“We escaped, but we're trapped in a house with about a hundred dead things outside. Oh,

yeah, Samantha is here with a vampire hunter, my cousin and my grandmother,” Amaliya said.

“I think I missed a lot,” Cian said as he visibly tried to control himself.

Amaliya helped him stand and he leaned heavily against her.

“He's coming now, you know,” she said.

“I will do what I can,” Cian answered. He pushed free from her and steadied himself against

the wall.

Samantha awkwardly raised her hand and waved at him.

He smiled at her slightly and looked at Amaliya. His fingers barely brushed hers and Amaliya

had to respect his discretion. She knew he wanted to bury his fangs into her and feed.

“How much longer?” Sergio wondered.

“If Cian is up it shouldn't be-”

The ceiling collapsed. Everyone shouted and dove backward away from the falling rotted

boards and shingles. The Summoner landed in their midst and stood brushing off his Armani

trench coat.

“Ah, how lovely. This should be delightful fun.”

Amaliya stepped toward him and had no freaking clue what to do next. “Yeah, well, fuck

off.” Her voice sounded surprisingly firm.

The Summoner smiled at her cruelly. “Let us play.”

“Yeah, let's,” Sergio said and swung his mace straight at the vampire's head.

The Summoner easily ducked under it and with a thrust of one hand sent Sergio crashing into

the wall.

Samantha bravely tried to take advantage of this moment and swung her bat full force at The

Summoner's head. He caught it in one hand and used it to sling her into Sergio. Her scream was

abruptly cut off as she landed hard.

Jeff went low and managed to strike The Summoner right below the knee with his machete.

His moment of triumph was short lived when The Summoner simply reached out and shoved

him off his feet. Jeff flew backward and crashed into a pile of debris.

Cian and Amaliya attacked together, teeth bared. Cian managed to get in a few hard blows,

his actions a blur. The Summoner fell back and Amaliya attacked him from behind, her nails

ripping through his coat and flesh. With an angry shout, he began to fight both his offspring

simultaneously, his movements too fast for even the vampires to track. Cian managed to deflect a

few blows, but then The Summoner's long nails caught his throat and ripped it open. Blood

gushing from the wound, Cian staggered back and collapsed at the mouth of the closet.

With a scream of rage, Amaliya punched The Summoner hard in the face a few times before

he caught her by her neck. Lifting her off the ground, he held her firmly as she thrashed in his

grip. She managed to kick him a few times before he slammed her through the wall behind her.

Pain filled her and blood flowed into her eyes. Then he dragged her back through the debris of

the wall and shoved her down hard onto the floor at his feet.

“Do not defy me,” he hissed.

Her nails clawed at his hand as his fingers dug in harder. Her blood flowed over his hand and

down her front as he crushed her throat.

“I will kill you if you continue to defy me,” he said in a low voice. He smiled his cruel smile.

“And that would ruin the fun of killing all your friends in front of you, then fucking you in their

blood.”

Looking up at him through her bloodied eyelashes, Amaliya tried to form words, but could

not. His face was terribly handsome and cruel with his fine features and glowing white eyes.

How could going for coffee one night after class end her up here?

His white eyes suddenly flashed to blue and his lips parted in a silent scream. His fingers

released her and he staggered back from her. Arching his back, he tried hard to reach behind him,

but faltered and fell to the ground.

It took Amaliya a few seconds to realize that her sweet little Mexican grandmother had

creamed him with the Virgin of Guadalupe statue. Not only struck him but had broken the statue

over his back. As he twisted on the ground, she saw that the statue had struck his bare skin where

Amaliya and Cian's nails had torn open his clothing. A huge bubbling, festering wound was

pulsating beneath the torn fabric.

Innocente stood staring at the broken remains of the statue in her hand, then down at the

vampire thrashing at her feet. He was so overwhelmed with pain, he did not even notice the old

woman until she thrust the top half of the statue into his corrupted flesh. It lodged there between

his shoulder blades, the flesh blackening and dripping off his spine.

The Summoner swung his arm in a desperate bid to fight off the old woman and it caught

Innocente's legs and sent her tumbling to the ground.

“No!” Amaliya staggered to her feet and grabbed hold of her grandmother tightly and pulled

her away from The Summoner. She screamed as the old woman's shirt touched her bare flesh and

the Virgin's image burned her. Rolling away, Amaliya crouched low and watched The

Summoner writhe.

He managed to grab hold of the embedded statue and screamed in pain as his hand burst into

flame. Most of the statue came out of his back, but a big white sliver remained firmly in his

body. Whirling about, he howled at the mortals slowly crawling to their feet.

Amaliya's grandmother whimpered and Amaliya could hear the old woman's heart beating at

a terrible pace.

The Summoner let out another terrible scream, then launched himself upwards. Amaliya

scrambled after him, trying to grip his legs, but she failed. Looking up into the gaping hole in the

roof, she saw The Summoner's form slowly dropping downwards beyond the house.

Not even sure if she could follow, she tensed her body, ran, and leaped. She sailed out of the

hole in the roof and flew over the dead. As her body slowly dropped downward, the blood from

her grievous wounds dripped onto the dead below her and she felt her power unfurling within

her. She landed hard and fell to her hands and knees. Turning around, she saw a few of the dead

licking drops of her blood from their flesh. They were very old corpses and looked like

mummies made of leathery skin and bone. But as they licked her blood, they began to look more

human.

As this registered in her shocked mind, she felt her power flash out, a dark tentacle of

exhilarating magic. It snagged the few that were covered in her blood and they turned to face her

fully. She felt her power coursing through them and understood at last what it was that let her

control the dead.

It was her blood.

Turning back to the graveyard, she saw the wounded man who had created her leaning

heavily against a broken mausoleum. The mass of dead moved toward her. These were his and

she could feel their intent to destroy her. Summoning her own dead, she backed slowly toward

the graveyard determined to draw them all away from the house, the wounded mortals, and Cian.

* * *

Sergio knew his arm was broken, but there wasn't much he could do but hold it stiffly at his

side as he hurried to his grandmother. Samantha and Jeff were bloodied and bruised, but okay.

He had seen his cousin fly out of the house after The Summoner and he could only hope that

she could handle the wounded vampire. It had been amazing to see his grandmother nail the

asshole with the blessed statue.

“I think we're okay,” Sergio said when he saw his grandmother was fine except for a bruise on

her cheek.

“Um,” Jeff said and pointed.

Sergio looked up to see Cian slowly rise to his feet, his long hair hanging over his face.

“I think this isn't good,” Samantha said softly.

Cian raised his head and hissed at them, the hunger distorting his features. His feral

expression sent the humans scrambling backward.

Innocente quickly pulled out a handful of rosaries and holy medals from her tote bag.

“You can't kill him,” Samantha said firmly as Cian advanced slowly on them. “He doesn't

know what he's doing!”

“Okay, we just...keep him back until Amaliya gets back,” Jeff said looking uneasy with this

plan.

Sergio held out his cross and watched Cian shrink back. “If she comes back.”

“She will,” Innocente said firmly.

As the four mortals faced down the famished vampire, they all knew that if she didn't return

soon, it was going to become unpleasant very quickly.

* * *

Amaliya strode toward The Summoner just ahead of the dead that were intent on killing her.

She wasn't afraid of them anymore. Her own tiny group of dead trailed behind her. Blood was

still flowing from her neck and she let it. She understood the power in her blood now.

The Summoner raised his head as she drew near. The expression on his face was terrible. It

was clear he was in agonizing pain and beyond that, he was furious. A tiny old lady had reduced

him to a shivering weakling and she could see what a terrible blow it was to his ego.

“You shouldn't fuck with little Mexican grandmas or their family,” Amaliya said as she drew

near him.

“Take it out and I will let them go. Stay with me and I will forgive you,” he said through

gritted teeth. His eyes were white and burning. She knew her eyes were also white and glowing

just as brightly. She could feel her power filling her and flowing around her like dark whispers.

Her magic was not quite like his. It was different. He had accidentally made her and his power

had been mutated by her transformation. Her magic was uniquely her own.

The dead he controlled scrabbled at her flesh but did not rip into her. If they drew her blood,

she could seize them from him and she was not afraid. She could feel that he was holding his

minions at bay and preventing them from tearing her apart. He truly wanted her. His need for her

was strong. At last, she could see him for what he really was. A truly old, bored, over-powered

creature that was terribly lonely.

“Take the holy relic fragment from my back and I will spare them. Come to me and I will

teach you how powerful you truly are. We can raise armies together,” he said in his rich,

seductive voice.

He was sweating blood and she could see his struggle to remain upright. “You remember how

it was when you first rose. When we made love in the blood of your victims. It can be that way

again.”

Amaliya felt her sex throb at the memory. It had been deliciously erotic, but she had

technically been insane with the hunger. She did not want to be in that state of mind ever again.

That was another time, another version of herself and she would not let him take her newfound

strength from her. “Do you really think you can seduce me?”

He was close enough to touch her and he did. Their powers mingled for a moment and she

shivered as the horrible lust inside of her grew.

“Yes,” he answered, and smiled charmingly.

A shriveled-up dead woman staggered up behind him to take the relic from his back. Amaliya

slid her gaze from his face to the corpse and watched as the creature's stiff fingers tried to grab

hold of the lodged piece of plaster.

Moving close to The Summoner, she licked her lips as his hands slid over her bloodied skin

and he caressed her breasts. Her nipples tightened with a terrible need and she closed her eyes to

gain control.

“Yes, you see,” he said in a low, pained voice. “We have just begun this adventure of ours.”

Amaliya reached past his shoulders as if to embrace him and moved in as if to kiss his pale

lips. She flicked her hand at the dead woman busily tugging the piece of the statue out of his

back and her blood splattered the creature. Instantly, she felt a connection to the raised dead and

she summoned the woman. The Summoner stared in shock as his salvation staggered to

Amaliya's side.

“I'd rather see you dead,” she said against his lips and drew back sharply from his touch.

His anger overwhelmed him and he roared at her. She felt the rush of his power flow over her

like cold water and into the dead all around her. They instantly turned toward her and rushed

forward. She ran her hands over her wounded throat and flung them out at the crowd. Drops of

her blood fell over the dead and instantly, they were tangled in her power. She leaped up onto a

gravestone and ripped her wrists open with her teeth. With gleeful triumph, she rained her blood

over the crowd of the dead.

Those closest to her staggered toward The Summoner. As they surged forward, he shrank

back from them. She could feel him weakening. The last bit of his power had been spent to turn

the crowd of the dead against her. He backed away from them and she charged him.

She slashed him hard across the face with her nails and his blood splattered her. With a rage

like no other, she pummeled his body as he tried to escape her and the dead that crowded around

them. Knocking him down onto his back, she straddled him and drove her fists into his face over

and over again. She was beyond words and so was he. His fading power and her growing power

fought against each other as the dead minions reached down to grab hold of them.

The majority of the crowd was now hers.

The Summoner's hands gripped her throat and with one last burst of power, he tried to rip her

head off her shoulders. Earlier he would have succeeded. But now she was the greater power.

She gripped his wrists and crushed them.

“You're done,” she whispered and unleashed her minions on him.

Slowly, she drew back as she listened to him scream as the dead moved over him in a wave.

They tore him apart, bit by bit, as he tried in vain to wrestle control from her. But the dead were

hers. They obeyed her and her blood. Her blood was their life and their redemption from his

power. They knew she would release them back to their slumber and they obeyed her.

She stood and watched as they ripped him apart with their gnarled, dry hands and clutched the

bits of flesh against their chests like treasure. One by one, she sent the triumphant dead back to

their grave. She felt them sink down into the welcome silence of the earth and soon there was

nothing left of the dead or The Summoner to gaze upon.

He was gone.

A hundred little pieces of flesh and bone clutched in the hands of the dead he had abused.

Closing her eyes, she let her power slither back into her. It curled up and slumbered, fully

sated.

When she reopened her eyes, they were once more blue-gray.

* * *

Victorious, Amaliya walked back to the farmhouse, the wind tossing her hair back from her

bloodied neck. She felt powerful and different. And it was good.

A cry of pain erupted from the house and she heard her cousin shout out in fear.

“Shit,” she whispered and ran back as fast as she could.

When she burst into the house, she found Cian backed into a corner with her grandmother

standing in front of Samantha, Jeff, and Sergio, holding out rosaries, holy medals, and a Bible.

The heat of the holy items' power hit her hard and she staggered back.

“I'll take care of him!” Amaliya cried out.

She slunk into the shadows of the hall and cowered as the power emanating from the crosses

pushed at her. Whimpering, she listened to the four mortals backing slowly out of the room. She

looked up warily and saw her grandmother still holding the holy relics.

There was a terrible, agonized growl from the room and she felt Cian lunge forward in a

desperate attempt to grab a mortal to feed upon. Amaliya caught Cian's arm as he burst out of the

room. He spun around and attacked her. She let him.

“Go! Go!” she shouted at the mortals.

She saw them flee just as he pinned her to the wall. His fangs sank into her throat. Her hands

settled into his hair and she held him tight against her. He drank hard and deeply from her, but

she could give it to him. Blood and death gave her life and she had drunk deeply from The

Summoner's death.

He was savage for the first few minutes of his attack and she trembled as he crushed her close.

Then, as he was renewed, his hunger turned into something else. When his mouth closed over

hers in a bloodied, passionate kiss, she shoved her hands down into his jeans to stroke him.

Pressed up against the wall of the old farmhouse, they struggled with each other's clothes,

their bodies trembling with their great need for one another. She snagged his bottom lip with her

teeth as he managed to bare one of her breasts and twisted her nipple.

“Need you,” he whispered.

“Do it,” she answered, and he slid down her body.

He bit her inner thigh hard. Her blood splattered her sex and his face. His tongue swirled over

the wound then swirled around her aroused clit. She knew her family was nearby, but she

couldn't care. He sucked hard on her inner lips, then licked away the blood. Her fingers tugged

on his hair and he rose up to kiss her hungrily.

Their creator was dead. They were free. And they needed to reaffirm that fact in an act of

passion. When he shoved himself into her, hard and brutal, she welcomed him into her body. It

was rough and passionate. The house shook around them as they met each other's thrusts with

ferocity.

After a few minutes, he collapsed against her and she held him close. He buried his face in her

neck and she stroked his back gently.

“He's dead,” he whispered.

“Yes.”

“Your grandmother...”

“Yeah, he made the mistake of pissing her off.”

They both laughed and Cian drew away. He looked scruffy and tired, but he was no longer

mad with the hunger. They both adjusted their clothes and Amaliya wondered briefly what the

mortals thought they had been doing as the house had rocked.

Amaliya gave him a soft, awkward smile as she felt suddenly quite emotional. He tilted his

head to gaze into her face. She wondered if he could read how much she loved him and see how

much it terrified her. Slowly, he reached out and took her hand.

“You saved us,” he said after a beat.

“I managed not to fuck it up,” she said with a shrug, but she felt a wave of pride.

He kissed her cheek gently and led her out of the broken house and into the fresh air of the

night.

The mortals were in her cousin's truck and it was idling. They were obviously waiting for

them. Jeff was driving and Sergio was in the passenger seat.

“Need a ride?” Sergio asked in a tone that was so normal, it almost made Amaliya laugh.

It isn't as if I just vanquished a dangerous ancient vampire or anything like that, she thought.

“My car is back there, over by the hotel,” Cian answered looking a little sheepish. He had

attacked their rescuers, then sexed Amaliya up while they waited in the truck. It was definitely an

awkward moment.

“You sure you're okay? The house almost fell over and you're both all bloody,” Innocente

said, eyeing them both suspiciously.

Amaliya could see Samantha's pained expression and she felt terrible, but she was not about

to admit to anything. “The Summoner is dead. Cian is fine. I had the dead tear The Summoner

into pieces. We're a little beat up, but it’s fine.” She smiled at her grandmother who was leaning

out the back window. She reached out and touched the old woman's hand lightly.

“You're one hell of a something,” Jeff the vampire hunter said in an awed voice from the

driver's seat.

“I'm just a girl,” Amaliya said with a shrug, but she knew that wasn't really true.

Samantha leaned over Innocente to peer out at Cian intently. “Hey, Cian, I'm glad you're alive

and sane and stuff, but the engagement is off.”

Cian blinked slowly, then nodded. “I understand.”

Samantha nodded solemnly, then sat, her hand resting on the back of Jeff's seat. It did not

escape Amaliya's notice when Jeff took her hand and squeezed it.

“We need to get Sergio to the hospital,” Jeff said from out of the darkness in the truck's cab.

“We'll see you tomorrow.”

“We meet up at your place then?” Sergio asked as Jeff shifted gears.

“Yeah,” Cian answered. “Sounds good...err...uh...”

“My cousin Sergio and my Grandmama, Innocente,” Amaliya said quickly.

“Nice to meet you,” Cian said a little awkwardly.

“We'll talk later,” Innocente said in a firm tone. “We need to talk about your plans with my

granddaughter.”

Amaliya couldn't help but roll her eyes.

“Do you realize the amazing reputation you're going to have in the vampire hunter circles?”

Jeff said to Innocente. “You took down The Summoner.”

“It was nothing,” Innocente said with a big smile.

Amaliya touched Sergio's cheek lightly as he began to roll up the window. “Thank you.”

He grinned at her and blew her a kiss. “It was nothing.”

Amaliya and Cian watched the truck drive off slowly.

“Your grandmother took down The Summoner with a statue of the Virgin,” Cian said after a

long, thoughtful pause.

“And I had the dead tear him apart,” Amaliya added.

Cian shook his head in disbelief. “I can't believe it's over.”

“I'm not complaining.” Amaliya's gaze swept over the night sky. “It already feels so much

better without him.”

“Very true.” Cian cocked his head to gaze at her. “You okay?”

Covered in blood, wounded, and a little dazed, she smiled. “I'm more than okay. For the first

time in my life, I know who I am and what I am. I know exactly what I am capable of and it’s the

most amazing feeling in the whole damn world.”

Hooking his arm around her neck, he drew her close to him and pressed his lips to her

forehead. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned into him. Together they walked across

the same field they had fled across to escape the sun and The Summoner.

“Sorry about Roberto.”

“He made his own choices,” Cian said sadly. “We all do.”

Amaliya nodded as she sighed. “It still must have hurt you.”

“Yes,” he answered, and lapsed into silence.

They walked slowly back to the car.

“We're free now,” Cian said as the cool night breeze flowed over them.

“We can do whatever we want,” Amaliya agreed.

“Will you leave?”

“Yes. No. I'm not sure,” Amaliya answered.

He stopped and held her against him. “Stay.”

Resting her cheek against his, she gazed toward the cemetery and thought of The Summoner

laying in pieces beneath the soil. If she stayed as part of Cian's cabal, they would be a mighty

force to be reckoned with.

“Why?”

His fingers caressed her torn neck and his beautiful hazel eyes gazed into hers. “Because you

love me.”

“Do not!”

“Oh, yes, you do!” He laughed and his lips brushed over hers in a tantalizing kiss.

“Do not,” she argued in a soft voice. She smiled, even though she was terrified out of her

wits.

“You love me as much as I love you,” he assured her.

Tears slipped down her face and she thought of the dreams Pete had shared with her. This was

no three-bedroom house with a pink canopy. It was much more and she knew it.

“Are you sure you want me?”

Cian laughed at this. “Yes. I'm sure. You have made me a better man. Or should I say

vampire? For the first time in my very long life, I feel I have a distinct purpose. A reason to be

strong and a reason to be.”

Amaliya tilted her head. “Really?”

“Samantha made me want to be a better human. You allowed me to be a better vampire. I

think it's time I truly became master of Austin. And I want you at my side.” His hands smoothed

her hair back from her face and he kissed her brow. “Stay.”

“Okay,” she said at last as she fully took in his words and believed him. “I'll stay.”

“And you love me,” Cian said softly.

“Yes,” she answered very softly. “Dammit.”

When they reached the Lexus, Amaliya looked toward the passenger window. It was devoid

of a reflection. “You said that you could teach me to see myself through someone else's eyes.”

Cian slid his hands into her hair and kissed her again. “Yes. When you're emotionally close to

someone, you can see yourself through their eyes.”

“Close how?” She stroked his back lightly with her fingertips.

“Like this,” he answered, and kissed her deeply.

She clung to him as his mouth worshiped hers in a sacred kiss, then he drew back and held her

close. Together, they looked into the glass once more and tears came to Amaliya's eyes as slowly

a reflection of a man and woman intertwined in a sweet embrace came into view.

Nothing had ever been more beautiful to her eyes.

And for once, she knew, her luck wasn't really all that bad at all.

In fact, she thought, looking at her expression as Cian kissed her brow once more, she had

never been so lucky in her life.