“No, thank you,” Logan said. “I’ve learned my lesson at least a hundred times not to cram my stomach full of food, especially when I haven’t had it regularly for a while. Thanks for making this one though.”

“You’re welcome. Do you have any other favorites? Something that makes you drool as much as steak?”

“I don’t know, K. Depending on what all V told him, he’s probably pissed. All I know is I wouldn’t defy him. If you do, even if he thinks she’s a viable candidate for becoming a Servio, or more, he’ll kill her as your punishment. You know he will.”

“He’ll kill her just as easily if I take her to him with heroin pumping through her veins!”

“I’m really not picky. I’m just happy if it’s clean.”

“Understood, I remember those days. And speaking of those days, could I talk to you in private for a minute, please? I’d like to share something with you outside of Kerestyan’s heavy, protective hand.”

Kerestyan sat up straight. “Trinity Nelek! What are you doing?”

“I’m going to give her some tips on how to work through withdrawal. Remember, I started this life as an addict. Maybe talking to someone who’s been there will help her. Considering your new time table, even if it doesn’t, it’s worth a try.”

“Sure, but only because you said please. Where do you want to talk?”

“Why don’t you show me which room he put you up in?”

Kerestyan tried to relax. If there was a subject his sister could be considered a savant in regards to, it was addiction in all forms. “Thank you, Trinity. Your willingness to help her means a lot to me.”

When Logan stood up, Trinity offered him a quick smile then followed. He watched as they disappeared around the corner, wondering exactly what she might say. Would her words help, or would they only upset Logan more?

***

“Are you ready to get squeaky clean?”

Logan sat down on the edge of her bed and sighed as Trinity leaned back against the door to close it. “Do I really have a choice?”

Trinity reached up to tighten the high ponytail her dark hair spilled out of. “Considering you’re in Kerestyan’s hands, I imagine you probably do. He’s notorious for giving people he favors choices, which you should know isn’t easy for him.”

Logan rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s not like the choices he’s given me are easy ones.” She mimicked Kerestyan’s dramatic hand gestures from earlier. “Die or become a prisoner. Get clean or die. Go meet some old vampire and potentially die. Notice a theme here?”

Trinity tipped her head back and laughed. “At least you have a choice. You may’ve been forced into this whole situation, but if you don’t want to try and make the best of it you can always choose death. You wouldn’t be the first.”

Logan leaned over and grabbed her pack of cigarettes from the night table. “I’m not going to willingly choose death, but the final say isn’t mine. That’s what really pisses me off. This,” she pulled out a cigarette and held it up, “will most likely kill me one day. It might not, but chances are it will. Not only do I understand the risks associated with smoking, but I accept them.” She popped the cigarette in her mouth, lit it, and then tossed the pack back on the table. “I liken my situation with vampires to being a smoker back in the 1920’s. They didn’t know how bad it was for them. They just died one day because of it.” She took a drag and let the smoke roll out of her mouth. “I could go through all this, even with the best intentions, and end up dead anyway.”

Trinity arched one of her perfectly shaped brows. “So just accept it. If you can accept and engage in a habit that can potentially kill you, accept the fact you’ve found yourself in a situation with the same consequences.”

Logan shook her head. “But I didn’t choose this situation.”

“Technically you did.”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you going to tell me it’s my fault I’m here, too?”

Trinity tipped her head from side to side, a smile draped across her pouty lips. “Yes and no. I look into your eyes and can see you’re just as morally bankrupt as you claim Kerestyan to be. In both cases, it’s a product of your life. You chose your life on the streets, but K didn’t choose to become a vampire. None of us Nelek kids did. That’s why it’s important you recognize K’s giving you all the choices he can. He’s giving you something he never got.”

She moved to sit on the bed next to Logan. “Reverse the situation. If your life depended on keeping a secret, and someone who wasn’t supposed to know discovered your secret, to what lengths would you go to keep them quiet? Would you give them a bunch of choices, or would you just kill them and save yourself the headache? Be honest.”

She’s got a point. Logan stared down at the glowing end of her cigarette. Be honest. As much as she’d like to say she’d be willing to give someone choices, if her life was on the line, she’d do whatever it took to save her own ass.

But in the same breath, it wasn’t like she intended to run off and tell everyone vampires existed. No one would believe her anyway, and even if they did, what the hell could they do to someone like Kerestyan? He disappeared into thin air on a whim. He killed vampires without even moving. Again, she could only imagine what he would do to a human.

She relinquished her cigarette when Trinity’s fingers closed around it. “I’d kill them and save myself the trouble. But, I’m not going to tell anyone about vampires, so I don’t think the comparison is equal. Your secret Veil isn’t in danger with me.”

Trinity took a drag then expertly blew out a series of smoke rings. “It’s the principle, Logan. The only way to secure you won’t tell anyone is to make you a part of it. A human who knows that vampires exist is a threat to my life. It only takes one human to make another believe, and then the snowball effect happens, especially now with TV, the internet and cell phones. How do you think the whole of humanity would react if they found out we exist? And I’m not talking about the Goth kids who’d think it was cool. I’m talking about the ones who’d feel threatened to learn they’re food.”

Logan took her cigarette when Trinity stood and handed it back to her. She could only imagine how freaked out the nominal population would be. She certainly didn’t like the idea of being food, and chances were no one else would, either.

However, it still left her with one question.

She flicked the ashes into the small mouthwash bottle she’d filled with water. “What could humans really do to you? I’ve seen vampires fight. Putting one of you against a human isn’t even fair.”

Trinity gave her a more serious look. “Imagine what would happen if even half of the human race united against a common enemy. A lot of the legends are bogus, but sunlight and decapitation can still kill me. How long do you think it’d be before sleeping Fledglings get dragged out into the street at Noon? Before someone like me or Kerestyan get our head blown off in a hail of automatic gunfire? Humanity stood up for itself once before, a long time ago when there weren’t all kinds of modern weapons, and it didn’t end in our favor. That’s how the Veil got started. Even a young vamp is powerful in comparison to a human, but now we’re outnumbered 500,000 to one.”

Logan inhaled another mouthful of smoke and slowly nodded. The image her mind conjured of a lone vampire standing in a sea of angry humans only drove Trinity’s point home more. In the scenario she’d described, the odds were decidedly in humanity’s favor.

Well, if nothing else, at least she understood better why Kerestyan had been so adamant about the Veil.

She looked up at Trinity. “So what happens to me now?”

“You get clean,” Trinity said with a wide smile. “Then K takes you to meet my Dad. If you make it through the meeting, which I honestly think you will, you’ll probably end up as a Servio. Do you know what that is?”

“I know it’s the name for a servant to a vampire, but I don’t really know what it means. Do I get a fancy tattoo or something?”

“No, you don’t get a tattoo,” Trinity laughed. “You’ll go through a ritual that makes you a half-breed of sorts. You become immortal, and will stay that way unless your body gets so damaged you can’t heal it. And by damaged I mean, you step out on Broadway and get your ass mowed down by a speeding bus. If someone shoots you in the arm, you’ll be able to concentrate and heal the wound. You pretty much stop aging, you won’t ever get sick gain, and you’d have to eat fast food three times a day for a year to gain a pound. You’ll also be stronger and faster than you are now, and you can go out in the sun as much as you want. But—”

“Oh!” Logan groaned. She knew it sounded too good to be true. “There’s always a but…”

Trinity laughed again. “Of course there is. Once you become a Servio, your Master is responsible for you in all ways. Whatever you do or say while you’re interacting with other vampires or Servios comes back on your Master. So, for example, let’s say your Master is me. If you’re here in New York, Kerestyan only has one rule for his city, which is the Veil. If you break it, he doesn’t punish you – he kicks my ass for not teaching you better. Then I come home and return the favor by kicking the crap out of you. And because you’re a Nelek, not only will I punish you, but Stefan will, too. He doesn’t suffer fools. Trust me. The last person you want to be punished by is my Dad.”