Evan’s attack was just as successful, Jared informed me. After a pause there was a: Goddammit.

What is it?

On the plus side, Bennington and his little army are on their way over.

The downside?

Some of them are using the trees.

Crap. How big’s his army? Please say no more than one-hundred!

There are forty vampires surrounding him but there’s an additional eighty encircling them. Time to unite the squads, baby. No more letting people pass. None of them are to get near The Hollow. On my signal, we attack.

I might have griped about him talking to me like he was my superior if I wasn’t so tremendously focused on the approach of the vampires. One hundred and twenty?! That meant that he’d brought, in total, one-hundred and sixty eight: a number that exceeded Antonio’s legion. Worse still, he had his allies lurking somewhere.

Suddenly an arrow of fear shot through me. Not for myself, but for Jared and the squad. I’d come to care about each and every one of them. I loved how protective Chico was of them all. I loved how Butch could look so calm even as he was plotting someone’s death. I loved how Damien could make any damn thing funny just by his mannerisms. I adored Denny’s innocent face and smile. I enjoyed watching Salem constantly bounce around like a boxer in the ring as if he actually believed he was there. I loved that proud expression Stuart wore every single time he’d travelled around as molecules. I could listen to Reuben’s distorted French accent all day long and never get bored of it. I liked the way, even when he was being a wanker, Max could always make me laugh. I even liked Harvey’s cockiness. I loved David’s vulnerability that lay beneath his maturity. And as for Jared…well I loved that sexist twat just because.

As Bennington’s vamps got close, I peered up at Max who was watching me from his place on the understory layer, waiting for my signal to act. One thing I’d always been especially clear on was that they should never give the enemy the chance to make the first move; not when you were dealing with vampires as you never knew just what gift they had. Finally, when the first row of vamps – some Pagoris, some Kejas – was directly in front of me, I nodded to Max.

Quicker than lightening Max paralysed the senses of the twenty he was able to encompass. While Harvey, David, Denny and Jared attacked them, Damien was astral projecting to the far right, distracting a chunk of the other vamps. While they were distracted, Chico, myself and Salem dealt with them. Then there was a battle-cry from one of Bennington’s vamps and then everything went bloody mental.

Vampires were zooming around thanks to Harvey’s telekinesis or my air blasts. Others were being hit with deadly electric discharges complements of Jared. Some were wrapped in ooze or itching like crazy after having met Denny. Many others were in comas thanks to Salem and Chico. Then there were those wondering aimlessly due to Max. Others were dying by psionic boom courtesy of David who, as I predicted, was an immediate target of Bennington’s army but being protected by Butch’s shield. Then there were others twirling constantly as Damien and Stuart constantly distracted them. And of course there were vampires who were being hit by energy balls, energy beams, energy bolts or an energy whip. Plenty found themselves alight, but only for as long as it took for someone else to kill them – then I put the flames out as I didn’t want the rainforest catching fire.

The rest of our legion also came forward and those other gifts with ours created the party of a lifetime. But Bennington’s army were in good shape also. There was that bloke who kept shooting acid at me; if it hadn’t been for my energy shield I’d be dead by now. There was one who was turning some of the vamps to stone with his breath and who almost got Jared; he then instantly died from an energy beam to the heart. There was the one who kept reducing himself to sand every time anyone aimed anything at him. Stuart and Denny chased him around and eventually got a grip of him. The most distracting was the Keja who had the ability to mentally project; in other words, he could manifest your thoughts which could be your fears or memories which meant my squad and Evan’s kept seeing things that weren’t there. Reuben eventually got close enough to touch him and then reduced the power of his gift – one of Evan’s squad then conjured a stake and killed him. There was also the vamp who had the power of suggestion and was trying to rule the minds of those around him. He very nearly got Chico to shoot himself with his own thorns but Salem threw his psychic punch in time.

When it looked as though Bennington’s numbers were decreasing swiftly I started to think that maybe it was too good to be true. Jared, ask Evan if Alora has heard anything from the animals about any more attacks on the other sides of the rainforest.

Seconds later he replied with: He’s not answering. He’s not dead, but I think he might be unconscious. I’m going to track him through our twin-link.

Feeling terribly distraught and irate at the thought that something might have happened to Evan, I increased the force of my air blasts until even the trees looked likely to topple over. Then I saw something that riled me even more: Bennington was turning back.

Oh he did not think he could cause this and then scarper off, did he?

Wrapping my energy shield around me I dashed at vampire speed after Bennington and what was left of his army; there appeared to be about eighteen to twenty. Ripples of power and various weapons bounced off my shield as other vamps targeted me but I didn’t stop. It was only when I got close that I heard the screech. I turned to see Alora being dragged along by two Pagoris. That was when I noticed other vamps being also dragged along. It hit me then: Bennington was collecting himself some more powerful vamps. Right now, however, I only had eyes for Alora; Evan would never forgive me if anything happened to her and I didn’t want him to know that feeling of losing someone you cared about.

I shot both Pagoris restraining her with energy balls and she dropped to the floor like a sack of spuds when they disintegrated into ashes. “You alright?”

She nodded and gripped my hand as I pulled her upright. “Thank you so much. They knocked Evan unconscious. Is he okay? Where is he?”

I was just about to wrap my energy shield around us both when suddenly she was sucked away from me as if by a vacuum, but instead she was in the arms of a Keja. Before I could act I found myself in a large frosted cube. No matter how many beams or bolts or balls I hit it with, it remained strong. “Bastard,” I hissed at Bennington as he approached and studied me curiously.

“I had to have you, Samantha. There was no way I was going to leave without taking you with me. You had to have known that.” His smile was self-satisfied and slimy.

“If you honestly think you’ll leave here alive you’re dafter than Victor was.”

“Oh things may not be going so great over here, but then I had expected Antonio’s legion to be the strongest. My allies are having a lot of success attacking the other sides, thankfully. The Hollow will be mine.”

“Let me ask you a question, Bennington. If your little helpers are winning the battle on the other sides, what makes you think they’ll hand The Hollow over to you?” His smile faded. “The Hollow’s not exactly an apartment building, is it? I can’t see someone handing such a grand place over to you like that. It strikes me that whoever penetrates the walls will be the one who apprehends it. Looks like that won’t be you, eh.”

“Then perhaps I shall use my new Feeder to aid my cause.”

“I’d sooner see to my own death before I’d help you.”

“Don’t worry, baby. It won’t come to that.” Jared’s voice sent a bolt of warmth through me.

Bennington chuckled as his army gathered around him and the cube. “You really are very fond of your consort, Jared. Victor was much the same. I must assume, then, that she is quite the performer in the bedroom. Perhaps I should take a leaf out of yours and Victor’s book and take her as my consort as well as having her in my army.”

I snickered as I appraised him. “Sorry, your Monopoly Man look does nothing for me.”

“She’s not my consort,” said Jared. His voice was dripping with rage and a need to kill.

“Oh? Then what?” Bennington seemed confused.

“She’s mine.” He left no doubt of what he meant by that. He must have felt my shock because he nodded slightly at me to assure me of his honesty. Bennington’s confident smile faltered. When a vampire chose someone for their own it was considered an extremely serious thing: they each belonged to the other and had the right to stage a full-scale war over them. It had happened plenty of times. Taking the Heir’s chosen was as good as signing your death warrant; Bennington would be automatically putting a bounty on his head. If Jared didn’t kill him, some random vampire could and would just to collect on whatever reward came with his death.

“The Heir has claimed a Sventé vampire?” Bennington chuckled nervously.

I scowled at him. “If you see Sventés as such low-lives then you’ll have no qualms with handing me back to Jared, will you?”

“I have to say I’m surprised you have allowed anyone to claim you, Samantha. I saw you as too much of a free spirit for that.”

“Stop stalling, Bennington,” ordered Jared. “Give her back to me.” He didn’t follow that up with an ‘or’, and that made his words sound all the more threatening. His tone made it clear that there was no room for bartering or negotiating or making any deals. Bennington was to hand me over: The End.

I heard a slight crack and frowned. Then there was another. I swerved to see a large crack forming in the wall of the cube. On the other side of the cube was Reuben, palms up against it, trying to weaken the strength of it. He nodded at me and shrugged as if to say the rest was up to me now. I sucked the energy around me into my palms and then I placed my hands on the wall of the cube as Reuben had done. Then I released a scorching heat near the crack. As I’d hoped, the crack widened and then split until more cracks were branching off it. I kept emitting the heat, conscious of Bennington and Jared talking but not hearing their words. Then the cube began to tremor and quake as the split ran through the floor of it. I absorbed more energy into my palms and then slammed a massive energy bolt into the ground of the cube. The entire thing cracked and fragmented.

Everyone turned to look at me and then, taking advantage, my squad appeared and attacked using their formations. Jared then created and projected an extremely high voltage bolt of lightning and aimed it at a distracted Bennington. The sad little man shook and convulsed and made the most ear-piercing noise as the electricity ran through his body, stealing his life. I almost danced at the sight of his ashes. Instantly Jared was there, holding me tight to him. At the same time those who were left of Bennington’s army suddenly looked unsure and apprehensive and while some surrendered completely, others fought harder as if they’d sooner die than be caught – we happily indulged them in that. Within seconds it was over and all was quiet around us. There were still sounds of battle in the distance, but at least Bennington was dead.

Jared scrunched his hands in my hair and rested his forehead to mine. “I could kill you for getting caught.”

“I didn’t do it on bloody purpose.”

He kissed me hard. “I’m still strapping you to the bed.”

“Coach! Look!”

I turned to see Denny pointing through a part in the trees. I gasped at the sight. At least three hundred more vampires had just teleported. Twat. The Monopoly bloke had had more allies than they’d expected. Or were they allies? It seemed more likely that they had acted as though they were working in league with Bennington but were in fact planning to let Bennington fight most of the fight and then jump in at the last minute to steal the victory.

Suddenly there was a lot of cursing and shouting and movement and the squad retreated to join the others and prepare for the new invaders. But when Jared tried to drag me along behind them I resisted and shook my head. “We can’t fight off that many, you know that.” He was going to electrocute me for this but I couldn’t see any other choice. “Don’t resist it.”

“What?”

That was when I merged into him. Just like last time, there was that sensation of fusing and melding with this other body as though I was encasing myself in an all-in-one suit. Each of my five senses came to me, one by one. And then there was that burning pain as though I was melting into this suit, into Jared, and our cells knitting together. Again, I felt totally and utterly omnipotent. But unlike with Joy, there was another feeling: that I was complete, which made no sense but it was there.

I examined first my hands and then the rest of me; my hands were slightly larger and calloused, I was burlier and taller. I was exactly as I was in that vision that I’d had via Luther. Just like in that vision, I felt more alive than ever; my entire body buzzed with power and energy. Jared’s energy was fifty times the strength of Joy’s. Two things unsettled me. One, I wasn’t sure I could channel such a large concentration of power of both mine and Jared’s combined. Two, I didn’t seem to care that I might not be able to channel it. I was filled with this sense that nothing could happen to me. All I could think of was releasing this caged power against the attackers.

Sam, no! The voice reverberated around my head. You need to unmerge with me right now. I told you not to do this; you can get drugged on the power!

Although his words didn’t quite penetrate, Jared’s voice still somehow snagged my attention.

That’s it, baby, just think for a minute. Think. I know the power feels good to you but it’s too much, it could take over you! It could kill you!

That couldn’t be right. I was invincible. Wasn’t I?