Lucas immediately began to struggle, shrinking away from the fire as his fingers clawed my hand holding his throat. “Per favore, Mira! Mia signora!” he said, unconsciously slipping into Italian. Lucas wasn’t Italian. I hadn’t a clue as to what he was other than his slight accent, which seemed vaguely Slavic. However, the Coven was based in Italy, and eventually all nightwalkers learned to beg in Italian. “I—I was sent by the Elders. They’re concerned.”

“About what?” I asked. Did they know about the symbols as well? A sick fear twisted in my chest. Coming to the attention of Ancients was never an enjoyable experience.

“The humans—they’re beginning to ask too many questions.”

“They’ve always asked questions. That hasn’t changed.” Mankind had speculated about the existence of nightwalkers for centuries, but never truly believed the tales to be true.

“But they have proof now,” he said, falling back into English.

An uneasy feeling added to the weight of my earlier fears and I went still. “Proof? How?”

“Bodies were found in California two nights ago, and another in Texas last week.”

“I heard.”

“The Daylight Coalition is claiming it’s proof that we exist.”

“They’re just a fringe group.” I extinguished the flame from my hand but didn’t release Lucas. “No one believes them. The police claimed it was a hoax.”

“It doesn’t matter. They are winning over more followers. The number of hunters has more than doubled during the past few decades. The Elders think we’re running out of time.”

“So why come here?”

Lucas stopped trying to pry my fingers loose and went still. “They want to know who left the bodies. You’re one of the oldest in the New World.”

“I didn’t come here to babysit, nor will I clean up after every kill.” My grip on his throat tightened and I leaned closer. “I don’t know who made the mess.” Releasing him, I paced over to the other brick wall in the narrow alley. There were already more pressing matters on my mind. I didn’t need to worry about the Elders and their flunkies invading my territory.

“They will find out who has caused this ripple among the humans.” Lucas said. “If he or she is still in the New World, it will be your job to mete out the punishment.” His hand absently rubbed his throat.

“I do not jump for the Elders.” But even I knew that statement was only partially true. I was stronger than most nightwalkers my age, and it was more than just my ability to use fire, though that unique gift kept many at a distance. I had destroyed more than my fair share of Ancients, earned every bit of my dark reputation through centuries washed in blood and death.

I didn’t feel the need to jump for the Elders, because of Jabari. He acted as a buffer between me and the rest of the Coven, giving me my freedom. The oldest and most powerful member of the Coven, Jabari had earned my unwavering loyalty. He had only to ask and I would perform nearly any task for him. But Jabari was missing now, my buffer gone.

“You will obey if you wish to keep your domain and your life,” Lucas said, his eyes narrowing to thin slits.

I stared at him, willing myself not to rip his head off. He was a pathetic creature. Less than three hundred years old, I knew he probably wouldn’t survive to see another century. Those who served as Companions to the Elders rarely lived long lives, but the reward during those short years was the ability to bask in the amazing power the Elders wielded. Once you were selected as a Companion, other nightwalkers could not touch you without risking the wrath of the Elder. Of course, if you failed your caretaker, which inevitably happened, your existence was forfeit. And from what I’d heard, your death was always slow and painful.

“Leave here, Lucas. Return to your master and tell him what you have found.”

“Like your defense of the hunter?” His gaze flicked over to Danaus at the mouth of the alley then back to me.

“Like how I spared your life,” I said with a smile that was all fangs and menace. “You’ve delivered your message. Be gone before the sun touches the earth or I shall introduce you to a whole new realm of pain.”

Lucas glared at me for another second before turning and walking down the alley, back toward the street. I watched him go, his body nearly brushing against Danaus, who didn’t flinch. A vampire like Lucas was easy prey for Danaus and not worth such worries. Of course, Lucas was also the mouthpiece for something much larger and scarier.

From the entrance to the alley, Lucas turned back to look at me. “The Elders are not the only ones concerned. The others are watching as well,” he called, then disappeared into the night.

“Shit,” I whispered into the darkness when I was sure Lucas couldn’t hear me. I had enough to worry about without having the Elders and all the others breathing down my neck. I doubted Macaire would come after me for roughing up Lucas, but I certainly didn’t need to be on his bad side if the Elders suddenly decided to hand over a sacrificial lamb to the humans.

In the nightwalker hierarchy, we kept things simple. The top dog was Our Liege, who ruled all nightwalkers. Below him was the Coven, which consisted of four Elders. Below the Coven, it was just whoever was the strongest and the smartest. Of course, Ancients—any vampire more than one thousand years old—were their own special bundle of trouble. And I was asking for trouble.

It was one thing to talk big while standing in a dark alley in my own domain, but I had never faced all of the Elders at once. I had maintained a comfortable distance from the group. I’m sure some of my actions caught their notice and made them frown on more than one occasion, but I’d done nothing to endanger our secret.

Unfortunately, on more than one occasion I had flaunted my total disregard and general lack of subservience for the group. So far they’d let it slide, and I knew I had Jabari to thank for it. Yet, if things started to get out of hand here in the New World, the Elders would use it as an opportunity to either bring me to heel or serve my head up to the humans.

I saw Danaus put his dagger back in its sheath in the small of his back. Of course, this creature was yet another problem to figure out before I had the Ancients on my soil.

“Nerian,” he said in his usual deep growl.

And back to the more pressing of the problems. Lucas and the Elders could wait. So could Danaus’s death.

My teeth were clenched when my gaze fell on the two-story house with the peeling, pale blue paint three blocks from where we encountered Lucas. I frequently hunted in this part of town. The inhabitants here struggled to eke out a living, and the air smelled thick of sweat and despair. Their lives were simple and harsh, with hopes that stretched no further than thoughts of food and warmth. Not so different than the village where I’d been born more than six centuries ago.

The street lamps at the top and the bottom of the road were out. Danaus had most likely seen to the darkness when he moved in. Thick, velvety night oozed around the houses and filled the street like heavy tar, making it easier to slip in and out of the neighborhood without being noticed.

A light breeze stirred from the south, rustling leaves on a sickly scattering of trees. The harsh, dry summer left them covered in only thin foliage that had already begun to brown. Most of the broken-down houses crowded on the street were dark except for a handful that leaked a blue glow thrown down by television sets. A high-pitched whine stole down the block as the wind blew open the gate of a sagging chain-link fence.

As I mounted the crumbling stone steps, I reached out again with my powers, running my senses through every inch of the house. Danaus was the only other creature I could pick up. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sense the naturi. I could be walking into a house full of them and wouldn’t know it until the dagger was already in my back.