Hayley had been followed by a member of the Strix. She brought him to St. Anne's Church. Marcel was already there with them.

I walked toward them.

"I found a card in his jacket," Marcel told me. "He's a member of the Strix."

I looked at the vampire for a moment, nodding. "Shen Min. 800 years old. According to Tristan, he was a torture consultant for Genghis Khan."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "I don't care if he's a Gemini who likes long walks on the beach, Noah. Why was he following me?"

I sighed. "I don't know."

"You don't know, or you're sworn to a code of silence?" Hayley asked.

"Hey, easy," I told her defensively. "We're on the same side here."

"Then prove it," Hayley told me in annoyance.

I anxiously rubbed a hand over my face, trying to think of my next move.

***

Marcel had called Elijah while Hayley and I were keeping an eye on Shen Min.

"Your timing is perfectly horrendous."

"Yeah? Well, I need your help. Hayley caught one of Tristan's guys tailing her. Knocked him out, brought him to the gym for a little Q&A. Problem is, it's Shen Min."

"Marcellus, do I need to remind you that Shen Min was known as 'The Red Sorrow' before he was a vampire? You execute him immediately."

"Elijah?" Hayley asked.

I continued to pace back and forth in front of the chair were Shen Min was still unconscious, losing my patience, stopping right in front of him. "So, what? You gonna sleep all day?"

"Before he wakes, you tear that heart from his chest."

***

Shen Min slowly opened his eyes, looking up at us.

I smirked smugly. "Hmm. About time. Now we can get started."

Marcel walked closer, frowning.

Shen Min looked at us, smiling in amusement. "Yes, we certainly can."

***

Hayley knelt in front of Shen Min so she could look him in the eyes. "There's still time. If you talk, maybe I'll even get you healed." She forcefully pushed her index finger into the bite wound on his wrist she gave him earlier. It was clear that it was causing him pain, but he simply clenched his jaw and said nothing. "Why were you following me?"

Shen Min looked up. "Because we have a use for you. Or, is it some other reason? You'll never know. And, it won't matter, because when I get free, I'm going to break your jaw as you did mine and slowly pull your intestines from your body."

Marcel looked up in alarm. "Hey, how about we just calm down?"

Shen Men looked at me. "And you. The others were so pleased when you joined our ranks, but I knew from the start you were filth. You've proven it by siding against us. For that, I will end you, but not before you watch them die..." He looked at Hayley and Marcel. "Screaming."

I sighed in exasperation, turning to Marcel and Hayley, rolling up the sleeves of my jacket. "Right. Well, that's about enough of that. Sorry, guys. Your turn's over. He's got to die."

I  lunged forward to rip out Shen Min's heart. Shen Min stood, spinning quickly, smashing the chair that he was chained to against the doorway, allowing him to get free of his restrains. He picked up two broken chair legs, holding one in each hand as makeshift stakes. I got into a defensive position in preparation for a fight, lunging toward him. Shen Min blocked my hits with the stakes, pushing me through the air toward the other side of the room, making me hit the wall and fall. He turned to Marcel, trying to hit and kick him repeatedly. Marcel ducked, dodged or flipped out of the way to make him miss, grabbing a kettle-weight from the floor as he stood from the flip, swinging it toward him so hard it knocked one of the stakes out of his hands. Marcel used the weight to slap him across the face twice. Shen Min grabbed Marcel's arm, twisting it to break it, using it as leverage to push him to the floor.

Hayley appeared behind Shen Min, restraining him, looking at me. "Take him!"

I went to rip out Shen Min's heart. Shen Min kicked me in the stomach, making me fall back. He elbowed Hayley in the face, pushing her aside, throwing her into the side of the fight age, making her fall to the floor. Marcel stood. Shen Min rushed over, plunging his hand into Marcel's chest, gripping his heart tightly, making him scream in pain. Hayley rushed over to stop Shen Min from killing Marcel. Shen Min plunged his other hand into Hayley's chest, gripping her own heart tightly, making her scream in pain.

"How poetic," Shen Min told them smugly. "Two warriors fighting side by side, dying together."

Just as he was about to rip out their hearts, I rushed up behind Shen Min, impaling him through the chest and stomach with a large, sharp piece of wood, just barely missing his heart.

Shen Min groaned in pain, tilting his head back.

Shen Min was so overcome by the pain that he let go of Marcel and Hayley.

Marcel and Hayley gasped for breath, recovering from nearly dying.

I looked at Hayley. "How's that for proving myself?"

Hayley sighed, hanging her head.

Marcel chuckled.

***

We took Shen Min to St. Louis Cathedral's bell tower to meet up with Elijah.

Elijah pulled Shen Min, who was still impaled by the long piece of wood I had plunged into him, to his knees.

Shen Min groaned in pain.

Marcel looked at us warily. "Between blood loss and that bite, I'm not sure you have enough time to get answers."

Hayley circled around Shen Min so she could face him. "Then let's make the most of it." She forcefully pulled out the stake. "We want answers."

Shen Min turned around in an attempt to stand and prepare to attack Elijah.

Elijah gripped his throat, compelled him. "Why were you following Hayley?"

Shen Min tried to remain silent, but the compulsion was too strong. "I was ordered to remove her from the playing field. She is an obstacle to the thing we truly want."

"Which is what?" Elijah asked.

"Davina Claire," Shen Min answered.

We were all unsettled and concerned.

"What do you want with Davina Claire?" I asked.

"Tristan needs her to activate a weapon to use against your family," Shen Min answered.

"What weapon?" Elijah asked angrily. Shen Min used all of his energy, resisting the compulsion. Elijah held his throat tighter, making him gasp for breath. "Forgive me. I'm having a little difficulty hearing you right now. Speak."

Shen Min gasped for breath. "I'd... rather... die."

Shen Min mustered up all of his strength to pull himself out of Elijah's grip. He fell weakly to the floor, pulling off his daylight ring, starting to burn in the sunlight until he burst into flames, burning alive.

Elijah, Hayley, Marcel and I watched in shock.

Whatever the Strix were up to, I knew that I had to do whatever it took to find out what it was. 

So that I could stop them and save all of us.