Michael collapsed back onto the couch, as if the Elder had leant across and punched the very air out of him.

'It is a peculiar thing, is it not?' Montague said. 'To feel so very alone in this world, to feel the loss of identity so keenly, even though you are surrounded by those who seem on the surface to be the same as you and yet who can never understand what it is to be as you are?' He nodded, almost to himself. 'Yes. This is how William felt every day of his existence and it is why his torment took him from me, as he too searched this world for the answers that he had sought since he was young.'

I understood completely what it felt like to be alone, to feel so very different from everyone else, but to experience it for that amount of time?

'Eight hundred years,' I said, awe-struck. Even saying it out loud twisted a knot in my stomach.

Montague smiled, wistful. 'Indeed. He found it an unfathomable burden, to know no other like him. There are, of course, vampires who have lived far, far longer lives than he, but they have done so with the knowledge that others share what it is to be as they are. In addition, these are the ones who sit atop our hierarchal system, so for them, even an eternity on this Earth is not enough, and yet they still fail to see all that passes them by. William, on the other hand, welcomed fresh experiences. He thrived on learning, whether that be new technology, new places, people, media, arts, or culture.'

He looked at us then, but I knew it was his love he saw, all the times they spent together, all the experiences they had shared.

'I used to tell him all the time that he had restless feet; always had this constant need to move on. A nomad vampire if you like! It was his nomadic ways that eventually took him away from me. He grew frustrated when in one place for too long.'

'He left you?' I asked, surprised at how deeply I felt the sadness that haunted his gaze.

'Actually, I left him.' He sighed, casting his eyes downwards as if ashamed to say it. 'After I was reborn into the blood, we did not linger long in London. As a doctor, I was well-known, so it was too risky for me to stay. Too many questions would have been asked. I could no longer tend to the sick and dying. Daylight forbade it. And what good is a doctor that can only help his patients during the night hours? No, we had to move on, and so I accompanied William on his travels. We moved on to Rochester, Canterbury, and Dover and from there we caught a ship over to Europe and travelled together through Calais, Boulogne, Dieppe, Rouen and then onto Paris where we remained for a while, so in love with the city we became. That city was alive! To be honest, I did not want to leave that place, but it was not long before William said we should continue.'

'Why didn't you insist you wanted to stay if you loved Paris so much?' I said.

Montague raised a brow as if my question amused him, or that his answer entertained him more. 'I loved him. In fact, I was wildly in love with him. I could not bear to be apart from him. Wherever he went, I would go too. I suppose that is what you do when you're in love.'

'So why did you leave him?' I asked, confused.

'Because, Miss Solomon, I knew that I was never enough for him.' He smiled again, but the strength of it had faded, more a weak grimace than anything. 'Oh, don't get me wrong, I knew he loved me, but he loved the world more. He always wanted to see more; experience more and I wanted... well I just wanted him. I wanted roots, I wanted a home. As fantastic as it was to see all these wonderful places that I had only ever read about before I had met him; I missed having a place to call home. I didn't want to keep moving from place to place. I had all I ever wanted right there with him, but it was clear that he wanted more than just me. Each day I would see his face growing ever more wistful. Of course, I did not know at that point that there was an ulterior motive to our travels. All I could see was the two of us endlessly roaming the Earth for eternity. By that point it was 1812 and we had spent almost two hundred and fifty years together. A good innings for any relationship I think?'

He hesitated, stroking his bearded jawline with the pad of his thumb.

'We were in the Americas by then and things were not going well. New England was rife with consumption and the people had been driven half-wild with the belief that vampires were the cause of it. Everyone was wary; everyone was on the look-out for suspicious characters and what could rouse greater suspicion than two Englishmen living together in Rhode Island? I grew panicked and the desire to come home increased more with each day. Except William had no intentions of coming home to England, he had plans to travel south; he wanted to see Peru, Brazil, Argentina. I thought it was madness. Latin America was ruled by the Catholic Church, and they also had their own vampire folklore for us to contend with. I feared for us in the south. So, when I realised that William's mind was set, I could see no other option. I came home.'

'He didn't try to stop you?'

'Of course! He begged me to come with him, in fact, he begged for three whole months. We argued and talked and shouted and cried. It was pure agony. It haunted every waking hour; the thought of being apart from him twisted my heart and seemingly drained it of all feeling. It pained me to even think about not being with him. I tried to see a future with him; did all I could to try and convince myself that it would work; that we could go on together travelling the world and experiencing everything it had to offer us. But not once did he ever consider coming back with me. Not once. It was not until later that I discovered why.'

He fixed his gaze upon Michael, who stiffened under his scrutiny.

'He was searching for others like himself. Other trueborns. And he was searching for the Codex. It was all connected, all of it. Every place we had travelled to, every city and town we had ever stepped foot in, had been another marker on his treasure map. He knew of the dangers facing us in Peru, but all the clues he had been gathering for so many years were leading him there and he was not about to give up the hunt, not even for me.'

I sat in silence, feeling almost heart-broken for the Elder vampire.

Montague must have caught something in my expression because his gaze softened. 'Do not waste your time on sentiment for me, Miss Solomon. My life has been a good one and I have lived through some amazing times and seen some wondrous things. I would not change it. While our destinies took us both upon separate paths, I would never have prevented William from attempting to lift the burden he had carried for so very long. We have remained in contact over the years, albeit far less than perhaps he would have liked, but it was difficult for me, you understand? Love does not diminish across the miles, but heartache is a cruel beast that very few can endure when its talons grip you hard enough to scar.'

Michael leant forward, his face energised with hope once again. 'If you've kept in contact with William, does this mean you know where he is?'

The Elder stared long and hard at him. 'I do not know his precise location. That information would prove too dangerous, particularly now when the Council seeks to step up its campaign to discover the whereabouts of any existing trueborns. I have been fortunate so far, and I suppose I have Dufort to thank for that, but good fortune is not guaranteed in life, any more than love is. No, while I do not know where he is, I am able to get word to him, and he will in turn, seek you out and grant you safe passage to wherever he might be.'

'Then... can you?' Michael said. 'Get word to him?'

Montague smiled and cocked his head to one side. 'It is already done. As soon as Miss Solomon here recovered from the effects of my Elder blood, I knew I could waste no time in informing William that the final piece of his puzzle might be seated here in my very own parlour room. Dark forces work against us all at this very moment, my new friends. Cogs are clicking into place and the great machine of destiny has awakened, but there are too many nightmares that seek to control its course.'

Pressing his palms to the arms of his chair, he stood, pulling at the hem of his waistcoat, and smoothing out the creases. 'You will stay here until he sends for you. I have plenty of spare rooms.'

My heart jolted. I couldn't help it. Another night in yet another vampire's home? Then, another journey to find this mysterious trueborn who apparently held all the answers – but to what, exactly? I could feel my resolve stretching, twisting, ready to snap at any second.

Michael, who, if he'd heard the anxious flutter in my chest, had chosen to ignore it, shook his head at Montague. 'Thank you, that's generous, but we can't... I mean, I can't... I must find my friends; I have to save them from Sébastien.'

'Dufort will not harm your friends, Mr. Quinn,' Montage replied. 'You may believe that man holds all the cards right now but trust me on this: he still needs you. In fact, he needs you both. Until he understands exactly what is at stake here and how to obtain it, all he has is myth and hearsay.'

'Until he understands?' I said, a bristle of irritation scratching over my skin. 'I don't understand. Look, I want to get on board with all this, I really do, but even if I believed that Michael and I were part of some quite frankly, wild prophecy, scrawled down by some mad guy just before he died, I still don't understand why everyone is so intent on getting their hands on it?'

'Sarah...' Michael's voice took on a warning note.

I turned to him, doing my best to remain calm even though I itched to clench my fists or just do something other than just sit here and feel like I was being carried along by the ever-moving current, unable to reach out and grab onto something tangible, something that would steady me.

'This was your quest, Michael. Not mine. I know there's a whole lot of stuff that you don't understand either, but we can't just blindly accept everything that's happening just because we want answers. I'm tired of being told half-truths. It's like reading a book and finding out someone has ripped pages out along the way, and you've missed vital parts of the plot.'

I looked desperately at Montague, who was studying me keenly, although thankfully not with the kind of interest that made me think he'd rather open my veins just to shut me up.

'I mean no offence, I swear I don't, but so far, we're just being shunted from place to place, to this person and that person. It's like we have no control over anything and yet we're meant to just let it all play out for everyone else's satisfaction? Luther almost killed me for what's in that bloody Codex. My own grandmother was killed for what's in that Codex. We've got the Council hunting us, Sébastien Dufort has taken our friends and now you're telling us we have to stay here and wait for this William guy to come fetch us? And all of this is because of some fifth century Christian convert who lost his mind for a bit and decided to write a bloody prophecy on his death bed?'

Silence gripped the room. In fact, I could have sworn even the ticking of the grandfather clock had ceased, although it was probably the blood rushing to my head that was drowning out all other noise.

Michael shifted forwards a little, his eyes fixed upon the other vampire. 'Uh... I probably should have told you she has quite a way with words...'

'So, it appears,' Montague replied, one brow raised, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, soon eradicated as he sighed deeply, turning to scoop more coal onto the fire.

'And yet, Miss Solomon's concerns are well-voiced and quite correct. I understand a little of what it is to feel swept along with a life you never planned for yourself. To feel as if a pawn in someone else's game. So, I will tell you what I can, but let me make this plain, and I do hope you will remember this when the time comes. There are many in this world who seek to control you both for their own gain. They will attempt to manipulate you, trick you, force you into making the choice that they desire, but it is important that whatever you decide, it is of your own autonomous free will.'

'When we decide what?' I said.

'On how you will change this entire world.'

'What does that...' I began, but Michael shot up from the couch again, only this time, it was towards the CCTV monitor he went, staring at the screens with horrified eyes.

'Mr. Kerr, please tell me that William Johnson was sending an army unit to escort us to wherever he is, because if not, we have a huge fucking problem here.'

Montague rushed to the screens, and I followed, my mouth dropping open as I watched the armed soldiers clearing the walls of the estate and swarming across the grounds.

'Cerberean?' I asked, my gaze darting from monitor to monitor.

'No,' Montague replied, scrutinizing the images. 'Humans if I'm not mistaken.'

I flinched as one of Montague's security guards came into view and instantly took a shot direct to the skull, his body crumpling.

'The Church then?' Michael said.

The soldiers were creeping closer and closer.

'Quick now, both of you, follow me.' Montague sped from the room, and we followed him through the house, ending up in a large kitchen, with a pantry attached. On the other side of the pantry, was another door. 'Take the path to the end of the garden, there you'll find a gate that leads to the rear of the estate grounds. Here's the key although I'm sure you can scale the wall, if need be, Michael. Once clear of the grounds, you'll find the roads again.'

'Wait... you're not coming with us?' Michael said. 'We can't leave you here.'

Montague hissed a curse. 'They are not here for me, boy, and I have not survived this long without knowing how to evade the Church. If I'm right, it is both of you they want, so you must go. Go now!'

Practically pushing us out of the door, Montague grabbed my wrist before I could follow Michael out into the night and he pressed something into my hand. It was a small, drawstring velvet purse.

'A first-aid kit for Sensors, Miss Solomon. I think you may not need it, but if you do...'

I took one last look at the strange Elder vampire, finding something in his eyes that made my chest tighten and the breath catch in my throat.

'Go!' he urged, and we did, the crack of gunfire in the distance spurring us on.

Our feet crunched against the gravel path as it wound through the landscaped garden, solar lights plunged into the ground either side lighting the way, until we spotted the gate up ahead, embedded in a high red brick wall.

'Quick!' Michael said, stopping to hitch me up onto his back. Wrapping my legs around his waist, he hooked his hands under my thighs as I held onto him, screwing my eyes shut as he began to run, kicking up a pace that made my heart race against his back.

'Hold on,' he said, leaping into the air, my stomach flipping as he reached the top, halting to catch his balance.

I gripped tighter as he jumped again, arcing high into the empty space.

Mid-leap, Michael gasped, his trajectory veering off course just a little, and he landed harder than I expected, his knee buckling underneath him. The jarring landing knocked me off his back and I fell sideways, tumbling down to the damp ground, the air whooshing from my lungs. Stunned, I looked over at Michael, who was down on his knees now, his hand reaching for something at his neck.

Between thumb and forefinger, he pulled a small red tipped dart, blinking in shock as he stared at it.

'Michael!' I gasped, desperately trying to stumble towards him on all fours.

'R-run,' he croaked, his head turning almost in slow motion. 'Ruuu...'

He fell forward, his body slumping to the ground. Footsteps rumbled towards me. Shouts in the darkness. As I staggered towards him, I felt their presence, an encroachment in the air all around me, but all I could see was Michael, his eyes closed, his face slack and pale.

When the pain hit, my body bucked, spasms hitting hard, like a swarm of bees were crawling under my skin, their poisonous barbs attacking every part of me. My whole body shook. My teeth rattled. The jolts just kept on coming. Violent. Unrelenting. Excruciating.

Give me a whole army of Cerberean. Give me the blood burn of the whole Vampire Council.

I would have taken it all then not to feel the pain that consumed my whole body.

It continued for a few seconds more until finally, mercifully maybe, the powerful jolt ceased, and I slumped to the ground next to Michael, my mind all but lost in a sea of agony, my body defeated.

As the soldiers surrounded us, I watched them through half-closed lids, as they dragged Michael out of sight. I tried to talk, to say something, but my tongue was thick and sluggish in my mouth, drool sliding over my lips. Rough hands gripped me under my armpits, tugging me onto my back.

With the darkness creeping into my vision on all sides, a slow-slow spread of oil on water, I saw nothing but faceless demons looking down at me, their bright eyes glinting malevolently.

'Call it in,' said one, his voice slurring as the haze tightened its grip, seeking to pull me under. 'Tell him we have her.'

Static buzzed furiously. Swarming. Stinging.

'Good work,' a disembodied voice rasped through a radio speaker. 'Bring her to me.'

I closed my eyes, unable to resist the darkness any longer.