of the images there. Football players in action, some kind of sports report. Then the
reassuring smile of a news anchor before cutting to a Middle Eastern city street scene, black smoke rising as a crush of people fled from uniformed men wielding batons. Children, covered in blood,
being treated in a makeshift hospital.
The world we’ve made
, she thought. Whenever she pondered such things, she had to wonder if immortality held any real allure.
There came a brisk knock at the door, the sort that implied it hadn’t been the first. Had that been what had woken her?
Frowning, she whipped back the covers and padded to the door in her underpants and a fitted black tee. She would need clothes, especially something for the funeral. Charlotte had gone days
wearing the same outfit in the past, but never on purpose. If anything, she had grown more concerned about hygiene and clean clothes since leaving humanity behind.
She stood on her toes and looked through the peephole in the door, spying Allison Vigeant standing in the hall. As Charlotte reached for the deadbolt, the other vampire knocked again.
‘All right, hang on!’ Charlotte said.
She removed the safety latch and opened the door. ‘What’s up?’
Allison arched an eyebrow. ‘You were sleeping?’
‘I crashed,’ Charlotte replied. ‘Weird, right?’
‘Sometimes we need to go dormant, like hibernating,’ Allison said. ‘Other times it’s just reflex. Conditioned behavior from human life.’ She looked Charlotte up and
down, surveying her many intricate tattoos. ‘Can I come in a minute?’
‘Sure. Sorry,’ Charlotte replied, backing up to let her pass. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘I just thought we should get to know each other a little,’ Allison said. ‘You being the new girl and all.’
Charlotte closed the door and followed Allison back into the room. She glanced at the nightstand and saw the clock.
‘Sort of a strange time for a get-to-know-you, isn’t it?’ Charlotte asked. ‘Quarter past six in the morning?’
Allison slid into a chair and gazed at her, once again seeming to take her measure. In another life, Charlotte would have felt self-conscious about being in her underpants and t-shirt in front
of this woman she barely knew, but modesty had mostly died with her humanity.
‘I didn’t expect you to be sleeping,’ Allison said.
Charlotte nodded, then crawled back into bed, sitting up against the propped pillows. She crossed her hands in her lap.
‘What do you want to know? Octavian and Metzger spent about two hours interrogating me last night. I figure you’ve probably already heard about it from them.’
‘From Peter, yes,’ Allison said. ‘Metzger is afraid to come near me in case I decide to rip his throat out.’
‘That’s going to make for an interesting alliance.’
‘Yeah. It is,’ Allison replied. ‘What do you know about me?’
Charlotte shrugged. ‘Only what Octavian’s told me. One of his best friends. Badass vamp hunter. Fugitive. UN figured you for a traitor. Now Octavian’s going to shove you down
their throats.’
‘How does that strike you?’
‘If Octavian vouches for you, that’s good enough for me. It’s not like I have a lot of choices. He’s pretty much the only reason I’m alive right now. He could have
killed me when we met, and he’s had opportunities to let me die.’
‘But he’s taken you under his wing,’ Allison said.
‘I guess, yeah.’
‘And that’s enough for you to be willing to go to war for him?’
Charlotte bristled, cocking her head. ‘Cortez and his coven raped and murdered me and turned me into this. If I go to war, it’s not for Octavian.’
‘What if he wants you elsewhere?’ Allison asked. ‘The chaos you helped stop in Massachusetts is going to have repercussions. The world is going to start unraveling.’
‘That’s my fight too, isn’t it? I have to live here.’ Charlotte slid to the edge of the bed and stared at her. ‘What
reassuring smile of a news anchor before cutting to a Middle Eastern city street scene, black smoke rising as a crush of people fled from uniformed men wielding batons. Children, covered in blood,
being treated in a makeshift hospital.
The world we’ve made
, she thought. Whenever she pondered such things, she had to wonder if immortality held any real allure.
There came a brisk knock at the door, the sort that implied it hadn’t been the first. Had that been what had woken her?
Frowning, she whipped back the covers and padded to the door in her underpants and a fitted black tee. She would need clothes, especially something for the funeral. Charlotte had gone days
wearing the same outfit in the past, but never on purpose. If anything, she had grown more concerned about hygiene and clean clothes since leaving humanity behind.
She stood on her toes and looked through the peephole in the door, spying Allison Vigeant standing in the hall. As Charlotte reached for the deadbolt, the other vampire knocked again.
‘All right, hang on!’ Charlotte said.
She removed the safety latch and opened the door. ‘What’s up?’
Allison arched an eyebrow. ‘You were sleeping?’
‘I crashed,’ Charlotte replied. ‘Weird, right?’
‘Sometimes we need to go dormant, like hibernating,’ Allison said. ‘Other times it’s just reflex. Conditioned behavior from human life.’ She looked Charlotte up and
down, surveying her many intricate tattoos. ‘Can I come in a minute?’
‘Sure. Sorry,’ Charlotte replied, backing up to let her pass. ‘What can I do for you?’
‘I just thought we should get to know each other a little,’ Allison said. ‘You being the new girl and all.’
Charlotte closed the door and followed Allison back into the room. She glanced at the nightstand and saw the clock.
‘Sort of a strange time for a get-to-know-you, isn’t it?’ Charlotte asked. ‘Quarter past six in the morning?’
Allison slid into a chair and gazed at her, once again seeming to take her measure. In another life, Charlotte would have felt self-conscious about being in her underpants and t-shirt in front
of this woman she barely knew, but modesty had mostly died with her humanity.
‘I didn’t expect you to be sleeping,’ Allison said.
Charlotte nodded, then crawled back into bed, sitting up against the propped pillows. She crossed her hands in her lap.
‘What do you want to know? Octavian and Metzger spent about two hours interrogating me last night. I figure you’ve probably already heard about it from them.’
‘From Peter, yes,’ Allison said. ‘Metzger is afraid to come near me in case I decide to rip his throat out.’
‘That’s going to make for an interesting alliance.’
‘Yeah. It is,’ Allison replied. ‘What do you know about me?’
Charlotte shrugged. ‘Only what Octavian’s told me. One of his best friends. Badass vamp hunter. Fugitive. UN figured you for a traitor. Now Octavian’s going to shove you down
their throats.’
‘How does that strike you?’
‘If Octavian vouches for you, that’s good enough for me. It’s not like I have a lot of choices. He’s pretty much the only reason I’m alive right now. He could have
killed me when we met, and he’s had opportunities to let me die.’
‘But he’s taken you under his wing,’ Allison said.
‘I guess, yeah.’
‘And that’s enough for you to be willing to go to war for him?’
Charlotte bristled, cocking her head. ‘Cortez and his coven raped and murdered me and turned me into this. If I go to war, it’s not for Octavian.’
‘What if he wants you elsewhere?’ Allison asked. ‘The chaos you helped stop in Massachusetts is going to have repercussions. The world is going to start unraveling.’
‘That’s my fight too, isn’t it? I have to live here.’ Charlotte slid to the edge of the bed and stared at her. ‘What
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