Following school the next day, I drove to John's house. He'd been mysteriously absent from all our classes and hadn't replied to any of my texts. Even my calls had gone straight to voicemail. Given the very enlightening conversation I'd had with Mr. Abernathy, I was bursting with new information. Unfortunately, it wasn't John I found there.

"How long did you work for Conrad Abernathy?" I said as I made myself comfortable in one of the chairs.

"Long enough," Hannah replied absently, giving me only a fraction of her attention as she flipped through the pages of some fashion magazine.

"Why did you leave?" I persisted. Mr. Abernathy had hinted at some sort of complication, a conflict of interest. If it involved Hannah, there was no telling what it was. "Did it have anything to do with John's and your relationship?"

Stretched out on her stomach on the couch, long legs bent at a ninety-degree angle and crossed at the ankle, Hannah was busy circling various images and scribbling notes in the margins. She looked so normal, so . . . human with her dark hair piled messily on top of her head, that for a moment I almost forgot she wasn't. As I often did with other vampires I met, I wondered what her story was. When and under what circumstances had she left her human life behind?

"John had nothing to do with why I left. Margaret and I didn't get along," Hannah replied, her answer suspiciously simple.

"Big surprise," I said, moving from the chair to perch on the armrest near her feet. "Margaret doesn't get along with anyone except herself."

Hannah snorted. "Very true. She has a particular talent for inspiring hostility in others."

We each sat quietly then, with nothing but the sounds of flipping pages and the occasional squeak of the marker against the glossy advertisements to break the monotony of silence.

"So are you going to tell me what happened between you and Margaret?" I finally asked, when my curiosity had reached peak levels.

"You're a smart girl, Blake. What do you think happened?"

I was only all too familiar with Margaret and her unbearable personality. Taking into account what I knew of Hannah and how she seemed to enjoy provocation, however, I was reasonably sure she wasn't blameless.

"I'd like to hear your version," I said.

With an exasperated sigh, she closed the magazine and tossed it onto the coffee table, sending it skidding off the far side to the rug below. Neither of us made a move to retrieve it. She glared at me over her shoulder. "Margaret and I are both powerful Compellers who like to be in charge. You do the math."

"I get that," I said testily. "But you haven't exactly answered my question. Something obviously happened. When I spoke to Mr. Abernathy yesterday, he mentioned you."

"He did?"

"Well, not specifically," I amended. "But I knew he was talking about you. He made it sound as though something happened and he was forced to let you go."

Hannah rose abruptly. Sauntering over to the bookshelf, she began pulling random CDs and DVDs from the shelf—turning them over to study the jackets and essentially doing everything except telling me what had happened.

"You're being intentionally evasive," I snapped, my patience wearing thin.

Seeming in no hurry, she turned slowly to face me, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Fine. There was . . ." She paused, as though searching for just the right word. "An incident, I suppose you could call it, which might have gotten a little out of hand."

"An incident?"

Hannah laughed, giving me what could only be described as an Evil Grin. No, she wasn't innocent at all in whatever had taken place. "I played a trick on Margaret," she said. "It admittedly wasn't a very nice trick. Then again, Margaret is not a very nice person."

"I'm sure she deserved it."

Hannah sat on the couch next to me so that we were facing each other. She hugged her knees to her chest and spoke her next words in a conspiratorial whisper: "Once upon a time, many years ago, Margaret was in love with Josiah."

It took me a moment to process what she had said, and then my mouth fell open. "You're lying."

"I'm not," Hannah said, tracing an 'X' over her heart with her finger. "Margaret was obsessed with him. She was careful to hide her feelings under that apathetic facade of hers, but I heard her. She was trying to, you know . . . persuade him. Only not with her words." She gave me a meaningful look, one brow raised.

"Gross," I said, unable to keep from imagining Margaret throwing herself at anyone, least of all my sire.

"Josiah has always been so stern and . . . well, you know how he is," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But Margaret can be annoyingly persistent when she wants something."

"And she wanted Josiah," I deduced. A thought occurred to me then. "Why didn't she just compel him to fall in love with her?"

"You'd think compelling him would be a simple solution, right? Well, she wouldn't. I suppose even Margaret Abernathy has standards. If you love someone, you want that love to be genuine, and all that nonsense."

"And all that nonsense," I agreed dryly.

I recalled the day at the lake this past summer when John and I finally moved beyond the secretive glances we'd been swapping since freshman year. Although he hadn't compelled me to fall instantly or madly in love with him, he'd undoubtedly manipulated my feelings. Did that make him worse than Margaret?

"Poor Margaret," Hannah continued. "It was apparent to everyone else but her that Josiah wasn't the least bit interested. The whole affair was just so . . . sad, you know?"

"Don't tell me you felt sorry her."

She laughed. "Hardly. Margaret and I have never been on friendly terms."

"So what sort of trick did you play on her?"

Hannah began picking at a strategically placed hole in the knee of her designer jeans. She sighed heavily, as though telling the story exhausted her.

"I just got so tired of the whole thing. Margaret wouldn't take a hint as far as Josiah was concerned, so I decided to have a little fun with it. If she had reservations about compelling him, I certainly didn't." She shrugged, as though that was all there was to it.

"That's truly evil," I said with an appreciative grin.

"It happened before you were born, but not so long ago that anyone's forgotten about it. I doubt they ever will entirely."

"I take it Margaret found out what you had done?"

"Well, I had to eventually uncompel Josiah. Margaret had become obsessed with him, and he with her. It was truly sickening how they fawned over one another. To see such two spectacularly strong vampires reduced to a puddle of useless emotion . . . it boggles the mind."

"Yeah. I can't imagine why anyone would want to fall in love."

Oblivious to my sarcasm, Hannah became silent and suddenly very still, and I found myself holding my breath, waiting for her to speak again. "Unfortunately," she said at last, "the last laugh was on me."

"How so?"

She met my eyes. "I can't say that John was terribly pleased by what I'd done. Always the moral one, you know?" she said with an arched brow. "He got all high and mighty, saying you shouldn't toy with people's emotions and whatnot. As a general rule, I can't say I disagree."

"I'm . . . sorry?" I responded, not particularly wanting to hear about how their relationship had failed, and in no need of the reminder that they had ever been together.

"I honestly think he was looking for an excuse to break up with me. We weren't at all good for each other. We might have had some fun, John and I, but I think we were just a distraction for each other."

I let that sink in, while at the same time trying with difficulty not to imagine exactly what her definition of "fun" entailed.

"So you left when John broke up with you?"

"What happened with John was unfortunate—I made a fool of myself when I abused my power—but I didn't voluntarily leave. Mr. Abernathy kicked me out, officially renounced my membership to the family."

"For what you did to Margaret? That seems harsh."

She smiled ruefully. "She is the apple of her father's eye and wouldn't have it any other way. I never felt like I fit in with the lot of them, but they were all I had. And when he kicked me out, suddenly I had no one."

"Except me," Bridget said, descending the stairs.

Hannah smiled for real this time, the effects of which temporarily lifted the mask of indifference she normally wore. She held out her hand to the smaller vampire. "Yes, except you. No matter the trouble I cause, you've always been there for me."

"How did the two of you meet?" I asked, curious about their relationship. Theirs was an odd friendship.

"When I left the Abernathys," Hannah said, "I left town altogether. That was one of the stipulations. To have two opposing Compellers in the same jurisdiction, both of them well-matched, would be dangerous. So I wandered for some time traveling the country."

"You make it sound so romantic," Bridget interjected. She met my eyes and added matter-of-factly, "I found her half-starved and refusing to eat."

"Why would you refuse to eat?" I asked Hannah. Now that I was a vampire and understood how tightly we were bound to the precious life source of human blood, I was unable to fathom the incredible restraint it must take to voluntarily abstain.

"Penance for what I had done, I suppose."

"You felt guilty."

"My compulsion became a crutch, a powerful tool to get whatever I wanted." She sniffed, her focus turned inward. "You know you're out of control when even Margaret Abernathy possesses a greater moral character. Getting kicked out of their home—my home—was a real wake-up call. I had grown disgusted with myself. I had forgotten my humanity."

She looked at me, her gaze focused and unrelenting. "If you learn anything from me, let it be this: Do not ever forget the person you used to be."

Her adamancy took me so off guard, at first I couldn't find my voice. "I won't," I finally whispered.

Bridget patted Hannah's hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind the bigger vampire's ear. "She's lucky I found her before she wasted away. I could smell the stench of death on her already. She was very close to the end."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I nursed her back to health, of course," Bridget replied, as though there had been no other option. "It was not a totally selfless act on my part. My human companion had recently . . . departed and I ached for the company."

"I suppose I have John to thank for saving my life, just as much as Bridget," Hannah said.

"It wasn't a coincidence that I stumbled upon Hannah," Bridget answered. "I'd met John before and we'd got on well. When she was forced to leave the sanctuary of Mr. Abernathy's home, John reached out to me and asked would I look out for her."

"Oh," I said, not knowing what else to say. For not being at all romantically compatible, according to Hannah, John had certainly gone out of his way to ensure her safety. Was it love, or basic compassion?

"Conrad Abernathy could have done a lot worse than force me to leave," Hannah said. "As patriarch of his family, he could have turned me over to the Regional. Now that you are part of the Abernathy family, Blake, you must never take for granted the authority he has over you. You think you answer to your parents?" She shook her head, a grim smile on her face. "You no longer belong to them. You belong to him."

Before I could respond to such an ominous statement, the front door swung open. "Hey," John said, stalling in the doorway as he divided a suspicious glance between the three of us vampires. "Feels a little heavy in here. What's going on?"

Hannah rose to retrieve her fallen magazine. "Oh, you know. Just a little thing called female bonding."

The suspicious look intensified, but John closed the door behind him without another word and hung his bag on the rack.

"Why weren't you at school today?" I asked. "I've been dying to talk to you."

"There was something I had to take care of. How did your visit with Mr. Abernathy go?"

"You're not going to believe what happened."

"Your trip was successful then?" Bridget inquired.

"You could say that. Mr. Abernathy was surprisingly forthcoming."

"He trusts you," John said.

"You don't sound surprised," I commented. "I'm not sure why he would trust me more than any other vampire. He's been to my house a few times before, but we barely know each other."

Hannah waved her hand impatiently. "Get to the good part already. What did he say?"

"He said a lot." I took a deep breath, trying to mentally arrange everything he'd told me in the proper order. "First of all, Mr. Abernathy spewed some nonsense about wanting to turn our town into a Mecca for all vampires."

"What?" John and Hannah said in unison.

"And those killings we've been hearing about in the news lately? They're definitely vampire-related. He has this grand idea of getting rid of the undesirables and creating some elite society of vampires and human donors."

Hannah's eyes widened. "That man is one delusional S.O.B. if he thinks the Queen will stand for this."

"How widespread is this problem?" John asked, more to the point.

"I don't know exactly," I admitted. "It can't be too widespread, though. Mr. Abernathy warned me to keep quiet about his so-called master plan. He doesn't want to attract any unwanted attention."

"And yet Andrew Larsen spoke of other Seekers reporting similar price hikes," John said. "If that's the case, we know this isn't an isolated problem."

"Whether or not it's an isolated problem, we have to stop Mr. Abernathy."

"He'll be sure to fly under the radar," John said. "At least until these factions, or whatever you want to call them, are powerful enough to converge."

"And do what?" I asked. "Overthrow the Queen?" I'd meant it in jest, but John gave me a meaningful look that let me know I was probably on the right track.

"Anyone who thinks he can overthrow the Queen is a fool," Bridget said with contempt.

"Regardless, we can't wait for the problem to escalate," John said. "Loss of life, on both sides, could be too great."

"Centuries ago, those in charge would use compulsion to explain away killings such as these," Bridget said. "But there are a greater number of vampires today, as well as humans with powerful technology."

"News spreads," John said, picking up on her train of thought. "It would be almost impossible to quickly and efficiently clean up a mess of that magnitude should humans around the world start turning up with vampire bite marks on their necks."

I reached a hand to my neck where I'd impulsively gotten the tattoo of a bloody vampire-bite mark when I was still human.

John cleared his throat. "Speaking of news . . ."

From his jacket pocket, he pulled out and handed me a copy of this morning's paper. On the front page was yet another photo of Conrad Abernathy staring back in black and white, his smile fake and conniving.

"He claims the police have a solid lead for the murders of those men," I commented in disbelief, reading the caption.

"Damage control," Hannah said. "Figures. He's saying that to put people's minds at ease and get the public off his back, and maybe throw any Regionals off the scent of truth."

"The murders will not stop," Bridget said.

The ancient grandfather clock in the corner chimed the hour and Hannah whirled at the sound, looking suddenly distracted. "I've got to go," she said, gathering her things in a rush. "I'm late."

"For what?" John said. "We're in the middle of something."

"No, we aren't," Hannah said. "All we're doing is sitting around rehashing the same points we've been rehashing since I got here weeks ago. When you plan on actually doing something about Conrad Abernathy and his psycho family, feel free to let me know. Until then, this girl's got to have a little fun."

"What kind of fun?" I asked.

She met my eyes with a coy smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Please tell me you're not going out with Zach."

"Okay. I won't."

"Do you think getting involved with the human boy is a good idea?" Bridget inquired.

Standing in front of the mirror, Hannah untwisted her hair from the bun and ran her fingers through, working out the tangles. "He's cute and available," she said to her reflection, pushing her lips out in a pout. Then she turned to us with a smile. "I think it's a fabulous idea."

"If you hurt him in any way," I warned, "I will never forgive you."

Hannah patted my shoulder on her way out. "Don't worry, sweetie. Your ex-boyfriend is perfectly safe with me. All we're doing is having a little fun. Don't wait up for me, okay?"

"Just when I think I could learn to actually like her," I said, staring at the door that had just slammed behind her, "she does something to piss me off again."

"Ignore her," John said, pulling me into his arms.

"I believe this is my cue to leave," Bridget said. "We'll resume this conversation later?"

"Yes," John and I replied in unison.

I waited for Bridget to go before craning my head to look up at John's face. Something was bothering him. "Are you going to tell me what was so important it kept you from school—" I kissed him on the nose— "as well as me today?"

His lips pinched together as he withdrew a slip of folded paper from his back pocket. He pressed it into my hand. "What is it?" I asked.

"Open it."

I untangled myself from John's arms and carefully unfolded the paper. John, it said, in sharply slanted print. I am well. There was no signature.

"It's from Ian," he said, answering a question I had yet to ask. "It's his handwriting."

"How did you get this?"

"I found it sitting on the front seat of my car this morning."

"You went looking for him," I said. "That's why you weren't at school." By the look on his face, I knew I was right. "Can you feel him at all?"

He closed his eyes and for a moment just stood there. Finally, he opened them again and shook his head. "He's nowhere close."

I held up the note as evidence. "However he managed to get this to you, at least you have some assurance that he's okay."

"It's so like him to take off without explanation," John said angrily. "I was hoping he had changed, but I guess I was hoping for too much."

"Ian hasn't abandoned you, John. He's just temporarily gone."

"His timing sucks."

"I know." I wrapped my arms around him again. "Listen, I have to go. My mom's been on my case because I'm spending too much time over here. Will you come by later tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

**********

In need of air and a change of scenery, I took a detour on my way home. Making my way to the park, I sat in one of the many dilapidated glider swings overlooking the lake. It had been a cold, gray day, and it was quickly becoming an even colder evening with the continued threat of snow. I couldn't feel differences in temperature like I had when I was human, but there was a brittleness to the air I could almost taste. There was no sign of the setting sun in the sky, just an aura of yellow-white haze. Far off in the distance, one couldn't tell where the sky ended and the lake began. The sounds of lapping water and the gentle soughing of the breeze through near-naked trees, and the occasional cry of a gull, were all I heard. Parents and children had taken refuge indoors for the coming winter, and the playground behind me felt barren now, devoid of laughter or any other signs of life.

The glider shook suddenly with the weight of a visitor, disturbing my peace. I didn't have to turn my head to know who it was. I could feel the electric current running between us.

"Josiah," I said with a deep sigh of discontent that practically rattled my bones. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Do you ever tire of your hostility?"

"Funny, but the only time I feel hostile is when you're around."

"What a lucky man I am."

I laughed at his uncharacteristic dead-pan. "We're never going to be friends, Josiah. You do know that, right?"

"That does not mean we must be enemies."

Didn't it, though? Josiah was closely aligned with Conrad Abernathy. From my point of view, anyone who was associated with him was against the rest of us vampires—and humans—and what we stood for: the preservation of peace as well as the sustainability of our precious food supply.

"Those murders are all the humans are talking about, you know."

"I am aware."

"The media is speculating the deaths are gang-related, but I know better. I think you do, too." I glanced at Josiah from the corner of my eye, but he said nothing in response. "You might not be Head Watcher, but you are still a Watcher. You are responsible for upholding the law."

When he still didn't speak, I went on. "I spoke with Mr. Abernathy yesterday."

"I was not aware," he said.

"Well, I did. And let's just say the conversation didn't go quite as expected."

"Meaning?"

I turned on the bench so that I could glare directly at Josiah's chiseled jawline and long, straight nose as he stared into the horizon. "I need you to be honest with me."

His nostrils flared as he nodded. "Ask your question."

"How long have you known I'm a Compeller?" The sudden jump of his jaw muscle told me he'd known a lot longer than I had. "Why didn't you say anything to me?"

He shook his head and looked down at his lap. "I . . . do not know."

"As my sire, didn't you have an obligation to tell me what I am?" I fisted my hands in my lap, wavering between disbelief and anger.

"Perhaps."

"What kind of answer is that? I asked for your honesty."

He looked at me sharply. "If it is honesty you want, I would advise you to quit asking so many questions."

"Josiah, that's not—"

"Yes!" he said, voice booming. "Someone should have informed you of what you are. That someone should have been me."

I clamped my mouth shut and faced forward once more. "There was no good reason to keep it a secret," I said a moment later.

"There are times when secrets are best revealed slowly," Josiah said.

I didn't like his answer but figured it was better than nothing.

"Mr. Abernathy invited me to work for him," I said.

Josiah's head whipped around, though I was careful not to meet his eyes. A small, almost strangled sound escaped his lips, but then he closed his mouth again. Rising, he took several long strides away from me.

Confused, I rose and followed. Although I couldn't tell him the real reason I had gone to speak to Mr. Abernathy—so that I could insinuate myself into his family and attempt to bring it down from within—I could afford a little honesty myself.

"Mr. Abernathy was looking for Ian."

"I am aware."

"He wanted Ian to do some sort of job for him, but . . ." I let my voice trail off. No need to point out the obvious fact that Ian had vanished.

"And you do not know where he is," Josiah stated.

"You think I'm lying?" I asked, a sharp edge to my voice. "You think I'm somehow trying to protect him?" I thrust my hands in my pockets so Josiah couldn't see my balled fists. "Ian and I have a complicated relationship, and while I might be tempted to protect him purely for John's sake, I can honestly say I do not know where he is."

The intensity of Josiah's gaze caused a flush of heat to creep up my spine and settle in my mid-section. It was all I could do not to look away. After a moment, he turned toward the water. "I know you are not lying."

"No one knows Ian's mind but Ian himself," I said. "Not even John. And trust me, he's been going crazy. He's worried sick for his sire, not knowing where he is. The next time Ian shows his face, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. With my fist."

Josiah snorted with something like laughter.

There was an unexpected break in the clouds that allowed the sun to peek through for the space of a breath. It caught the tips of Josiah's hair, setting it on fire with an explosion of crimson and gold. "I would know where you are," he said, almost too quietly for me to hear. "Always."

"That's creepy, Josiah. Even for you."

The corner of his mouth lifted and I felt something stir inside me, something that admittedly confused and scared me. Unnerved by both his looming presence and my own emotions, I spoke angrily. "By the way, are you here for a reason, or are you spying on me? Because I really don't like the fact that you just seem to show up wherever I am."

"It is my sworn duty to protect you, to provide for you," Josiah said, losing the formal tone he typically reserved for me. Instead, he spoke with almost urgent desperation. "I feel the need to be physically near you."

I eyed him suspiciously. "Really? Because I don't particularly feel the need to be near you. Do us both a favor and get yourself a girlfriend, okay? Maybe go out on a date or something."

But even as I said the words, I realized there was a part of me that needed to be near Josiah just as much as he needed to be near me. Still, I wasn't going to admit that to him when I could barely admit it to myself. Bond or not, I preferred to keep my distance. I might not feel for Josiah what I felt for John, but I felt something. It was complicated and confusing. As much as I hated it, Josiah would be in my life for as long as either of us existed, but that didn't mean I wanted to see him every day.

"We can arrange a truce," Josiah suggested so awkwardly I could tell it was practically killing him. "We do not have to speak to one another, but if you will allow me to protect you, to watch over you—"

"Josiah, that's—"

"A difficult arrangement," he said. "Yes, I know. You must believe me when I say it is as difficult for you as it is for me."

"Difficult isn't the word I was going to say. Let me ask you something," I said, a sudden thought occurring to me. "I'm a Compeller. Aren't you afraid I might one day compel you to do something against your will?"

A dark look crossed his face and I belatedly remembered Hannah telling me how she'd compelled Josiah to fall in love with Margaret. "Not to say that I would ever compel you," I added quickly.

"I would never give you a reason to," he said stiffly.

"Besides," I said. "I'm no good at it. That's why Mr. Abernathy asked me on. He wants me to train with Margaret."

Josiah stiffened. "I would advise you to be careful."

"You don't have to tell me that," I said. "I thought that when I became a vampire nothing would scare me, but Margaret does."

"Margaret inspires fear in everyone," he said.

"You're afraid of Margaret?"

"I was," he said. "At one time."

"But not anymore?"

"I have lost the part of me that feared her the most."

We lapsed into silence then. I shoved my hands in my coat pockets and exhaled forcefully, noticing as I did that there was no puff of white anymore, which meant my body temperature was dropping. I was starting to feel chilled, and a shiver traveled down my spine. I was hungry. I needed blood soon.

Josiah reached into his coat pocket and produced a pint. When I looked at him, his shoulders rose and fell. "I anticipated your need."

"Do you walk around with blood in your pockets all the time?"

"Only since you were born." He thrust it toward me. "You are hungry. I can sense it even before you. You need to eat. Take it."

"Josiah, you know I don't—"

"I deceived you once, Blake Ehlert. I will not make that mistake again."

Something about the way he said it, I knew he was speaking the truth. I took the blood from him, acutely aware of my need. "Thank you."

"You are welcome," he answered gruffly.

Silence settled as I slowly sipped the blood. I could feel the anger and uneasiness that had been flowing in the space between us, ebbing and flowing like an ocean tide, begin to recede altogether. I closed my eyes, picturing myself bobbing in this veritable sea of emotions. After a while, the emotions began to settle completely until my annoyance with Josiah was just a simmer in the background.

"How did you come to be with the Abernathys?" I asked some time later.

"That is not a story for today."

"Josiah, if you expect there to be neutrality between us, you can't keep evading me. How do you expect us to get along if you can't even answer a simple question?"

"Because it is not a simple answer."

"Fine," I said. "Not that I care anyway."

"You do care," he said. "You are curious by nature."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing."

He shook his head. "It is not. Only, I once knew someone who was curious, like you."

"I'm sure they were just as awesome. Who was it?"

"My wife," he said.

"Oh," I said, taken aback. "What happened to her?"

"She died."

I crossed my arms over my chest and commenced staring out at the black water. If I closed my eyes, I could pretend that Josiah was not even there at all, so that's exactly what I did.

Moments later when I opened them again, Josiah was gone.

And I was alone once more. 

*****

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter, please vote, comment, and recommend Blood Stain to others.