head and cough. They’ll torture your ass. The pain and discomfort you experienced during your transformation will be as minor as a paper cut in comparison.”
Stuart swore.
Bastien tensed when the boy jumped up and began to pace.
“So what you’re saying is I’m screwed. This mercenary fuck wants me and every other vampire dead and so do you immortals.”
“No, we don’t. You’d be an empty pile of clothing like Murray’s man over there if that were true. The immortals are looking for vampires with whom we can form an alliance of sorts.”
“Bullshit.”
Melanie caught Stuart’s eye. “This isn’t the first time an immortal has approached a vampire with an offer of aid. You wouldn’t be in this clearing tonight if you hadn’t heard that Bastien had done so in the past.”
“Yeah,” Stuart said, voice high with anxiety, “because he thought he was a vampire!”
“But that’s a good thing,” she insisted. “He lived with vampires for two centuries. He knows what you’re going through. I know what you’re going through. Two vampires have already joined our fight. Had they not, I wouldn’t have been able to alter the drug so that it only sedates and doesn’t kill vampires.”
Stuart stopped short. “Really?”
“The two were members of my army,” Bastien said, “who had the foresight to surrender and ask the Immortal Guardians for help rather than continuing to fight once I was taken.”
“Once you were taken?” Stuart repeated. “Like as a prisoner?”
Bastien shrugged. “I had spent too many years wrongly blaming immortals for something they didn’t do to go willingly. And, yet—as you can see—they didn’t harm me. They won’t harm you either if you help us.”
“Help you how?”
“We need someone to help us spread the word to the other vampires, impress upon them the importance of avoiding capture by Emrys and his soldiers. I narrowly escaped capture myself, and you know I’m much stronger than you are.”
“Yeah. You wish.”
The words had scarcely left Stuart’s lips before Bastien flew to his side and lifted him two or three feet off the ground with a hand at his throat.
Eyes bulging, Stuart clawed at Bastien’s hand with both of his own to no avail. His face mottled. His legs kicked.
Melanie cleared her throat. “Um . . . Bastien.”
Opening his fingers, he let the vampire drop to the ground. “As I said, I’m much stronger than you.”
Stuart coughed and gasped. Climbing to his feet, he glowered at Bastien.
Melanie ambled over to join them.
Bastien clutched Stuart’s arm. “Do you kill when you feed?”
“Yes,” he responded defiantly.
The emotions flowing into Bastien told him otherwise. Stuart was all boast and no bite.
Releasing him, Bastien stepped back.
“What do I have to do if I join you?” the vamp asked.
“Vampires from all over the globe have been pouring into North Carolina since tales of my uprising leaked, so we know you use a method to communicate that goes beyond word of mouth or congregating at the local pub.”
Stuart rubbed his neck. “There are . . . places on the Internet where a lot of us like to hang out.”
“We’ll need a list of those.”
Stuart shook his head. “I don’t know, man. I need to think about it.”
“Not if you want to live.”
“So, if I say no, you’ll kill me?”
“If you aren’t with us, you’re against us.”
“There’s more,” Melanie said, issuing Bastien a frown. “You’ve been a vampire long enough to notice that older vampires are less than stable mentally.”
Stuart’s gaze strayed to the blond.
“The mental deterioration is a result of brain damage that increases every day you’re infected with the virus. You may be fine now. But you’ll begin to have psychotic episodes in the next year or so. Before then, twisted fantasies will disrupt your thoughts. Disturbing impulses that will become harder and harder to deny.”
Stuart eyed Bastien. “You have
Stuart swore.
Bastien tensed when the boy jumped up and began to pace.
“So what you’re saying is I’m screwed. This mercenary fuck wants me and every other vampire dead and so do you immortals.”
“No, we don’t. You’d be an empty pile of clothing like Murray’s man over there if that were true. The immortals are looking for vampires with whom we can form an alliance of sorts.”
“Bullshit.”
Melanie caught Stuart’s eye. “This isn’t the first time an immortal has approached a vampire with an offer of aid. You wouldn’t be in this clearing tonight if you hadn’t heard that Bastien had done so in the past.”
“Yeah,” Stuart said, voice high with anxiety, “because he thought he was a vampire!”
“But that’s a good thing,” she insisted. “He lived with vampires for two centuries. He knows what you’re going through. I know what you’re going through. Two vampires have already joined our fight. Had they not, I wouldn’t have been able to alter the drug so that it only sedates and doesn’t kill vampires.”
Stuart stopped short. “Really?”
“The two were members of my army,” Bastien said, “who had the foresight to surrender and ask the Immortal Guardians for help rather than continuing to fight once I was taken.”
“Once you were taken?” Stuart repeated. “Like as a prisoner?”
Bastien shrugged. “I had spent too many years wrongly blaming immortals for something they didn’t do to go willingly. And, yet—as you can see—they didn’t harm me. They won’t harm you either if you help us.”
“Help you how?”
“We need someone to help us spread the word to the other vampires, impress upon them the importance of avoiding capture by Emrys and his soldiers. I narrowly escaped capture myself, and you know I’m much stronger than you are.”
“Yeah. You wish.”
The words had scarcely left Stuart’s lips before Bastien flew to his side and lifted him two or three feet off the ground with a hand at his throat.
Eyes bulging, Stuart clawed at Bastien’s hand with both of his own to no avail. His face mottled. His legs kicked.
Melanie cleared her throat. “Um . . . Bastien.”
Opening his fingers, he let the vampire drop to the ground. “As I said, I’m much stronger than you.”
Stuart coughed and gasped. Climbing to his feet, he glowered at Bastien.
Melanie ambled over to join them.
Bastien clutched Stuart’s arm. “Do you kill when you feed?”
“Yes,” he responded defiantly.
The emotions flowing into Bastien told him otherwise. Stuart was all boast and no bite.
Releasing him, Bastien stepped back.
“What do I have to do if I join you?” the vamp asked.
“Vampires from all over the globe have been pouring into North Carolina since tales of my uprising leaked, so we know you use a method to communicate that goes beyond word of mouth or congregating at the local pub.”
Stuart rubbed his neck. “There are . . . places on the Internet where a lot of us like to hang out.”
“We’ll need a list of those.”
Stuart shook his head. “I don’t know, man. I need to think about it.”
“Not if you want to live.”
“So, if I say no, you’ll kill me?”
“If you aren’t with us, you’re against us.”
“There’s more,” Melanie said, issuing Bastien a frown. “You’ve been a vampire long enough to notice that older vampires are less than stable mentally.”
Stuart’s gaze strayed to the blond.
“The mental deterioration is a result of brain damage that increases every day you’re infected with the virus. You may be fine now. But you’ll begin to have psychotic episodes in the next year or so. Before then, twisted fantasies will disrupt your thoughts. Disturbing impulses that will become harder and harder to deny.”
Stuart eyed Bastien. “You have
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