“Fuck.” Anger stirred but he fought it back. It wasn’t her fault, what she was.

She spat dirt. “Let me go.”

“Not a chance.”

“What are you?”

“Not like you.”

“You’re not human.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m something worse.”

“Let me go!”

“Answer my questions.”

She struggled again but ceased when she realized she couldn’t break free. “What do you want to know?”

“How many of you are there?”

Her gaze flickered away, seeming to frantically search for help. Lavos inhaled deeply, regretted it since she reeked, before shaking his head. “None of your kind are near. I’d smell them.”

“My kind?” She fixed her attention on him.

He hesitated before leaning down to get closer. He allowed his eyes to glow.

Her features softened and she stared at him in awe. “That’s beautiful. They’re so blue.”

“Thank you. Your eyes tell me exactly what you are.”

“I’m a Vampire. What are you?”

He inwardly winced. Someone had been telling big lies. “That’s not important.”

She frowned.

“Think of me as a peacekeeper—and you’ve been very bad by breaking laws. Do you understand? Killing humans is a crime. Did you know that?”

“We have to feed on them to survive. We have to kill them so they don’t change into one of us.”

Alarms went off inside Lavos. “Is that what your master told you? What’s his name?”

“Mitch.”

He’d never heard of the master but that wasn’t a surprise.

The sound of gunfire jerked his head up, and he knew he’d run out of time. He focused on the woman, allowing his eyes to glow brighter. “I’m sorry. This is going to hurt.”

He stared deeply into her eyes and she whimpered. To force his will on someone like her was painful for the one it was done to. “How many of you are there?”

“Five,” she whispered.

“How many are older Vampires?”

“Only Mitch.”

“Describe him to me.”

“He’s tall with black hair and wears black clothes.” Her nose started to bleed.

“Don’t fight me. You’ll cause your brain to hemorrhage. Do you understand?”

A thin trickle of blood ran out of her ear next and he was tempted to stop, but he had no choice. She was dead anyway. He couldn’t allow her to live. “Did he kill everyone in the area?”

“There’s a few people we couldn’t get to.”

He let go of her mind and eased some of the weight off her back by lowering until his elbow was braced on the ground. “You’re not a Vampire, sweetheart. Someone turned you but they didn’t do it all the way. You’re what they call a soldier. You heal faster than a normal Vampire but it has consequences. You would have had about six weeks before you couldn’t even remember your name. Your master could have turned you all the way but chose not to. They’re cold bastards by nature. You’d have felt sheer agony eventually, craving blood all the time. It’s the curse he infected you with. It eats you alive, and no amount of blood can cure what’s wrong.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s not true. Mitch said we’re Vampires. We’ll live forever!”

“He lied. But I’m going to make him pay for what he did to you. I give you my word on that. I’m going to spare you from suffering.” Lavos felt pity as he watched bloody tears fill her eyes.

“You’re lying!”

“I’m not. Vampires look human for the most part. Have you seen your eyes? The blood in them is a giveaway. You’re damaged. I can’t put it any other way. Sometimes Vampires make soldiers to increase their numbers to win a war, and then dispose of them when they’re no longer needed. It’s also how I can force my will on you. You were made mentally weak enough for a Vampire to control. Your Mitch never meant to keep you around. I can’t let you go. You’ll become a danger to everything living, and could expose secrets to the humans.”

“I am a Vampire!” she insisted.

He heard more gunfire. The people she’d mentioned must be a group of campers, probably hunters, and they clearly needed help. He wanted someone to survive this—and his best bet of finding Mitch would be where the blood was.

“Close your eyes. Think of something good. I’m so sorry.”

She struggled and he lifted up, pinning her again. The quickest way to kill her would be brutal but it would also be painless. He extended his claws and rolled over fast, taking her with him by keeping ahold of her hair. He slashed her neck as they twisted, removing her head.

Lavos stood, resting the head next to her body.

“I’m going to shred you for making me do that, Mitch. Your throat is mine.”

He couldn’t stand to look at what was left of the first woman he’d ever had to kill. Mitch had lied to her about her future. Lavos had been brutally honest, and by killing her, he had done her a kindness…but it didn’t feel satisfying.

One glance up assured him what remained of the woman wouldn’t be shaded from the sun once it rose in the sky. He spun, running at full speed toward the sound of random gunfire.

He became aware of someone else running and caught a glimpse of Kar. They drew closer, glancing at each other. Kar looked killing mad, telling Lavos all he needed to know. Blood stained his shirt and hands. He’d dealt with the male bloodsucker.

They stopped when they caught sight of the motor home. It was down a hill from where they stood. The side door hung open, light spilling out from the interior. A truck was parked nearby.

A gun blast came from the interior.

“Mine said there were five of them. He was a fucking soldier,” Kar panted.

“Mine said the same; she was one too.”

“Carl was a local resident turned twelve days ago by Mitch. I got a description. I also asked about that family we found torn apart. It seems Mitch knew them and held a grudge against the youngest member. That’s why they were slaughtered. It wasn’t for food, but revenge.”

“Were there any remains of this Carl?”

“Yeah. I dragged what was left of him to a clearing.”