Page 28 (1/2)

"I’otten he was there, but when I looked over he had a calned expression on his face Of course, Jesse used to be a cop He would have interviewed victims of many kinds of abuse "I know you don’t want to talk about this But someone used a boundary witch to make you kill your roommates, and that same person has theht be happening again"

Chapter 18

And that hen Molly snapped

"He’s dead," she shouted, her voice suddenly thunderous in the tiny space She got up into Jesse’s face and shoved hith, which really only rocked him back a step Hein this life or any other, it’s that Alonzo is dead, dead, dead I ing motion

"I believe you," Jesse said caloddamned parade for it, at the very least But you said that Alonzo was special, that he had a gift for turning new va at him "We call it bloodcraft," she said, her voice cool "Theus both a chance to process that I hadn’t known that some vampires could be better at bloodcraft than others, but it ic, and soer than others Why wouldn’t vaths, too?

"Does that work like huenetics?" Jesse asked Molly’s brow furrowed, but I sahere he was going with this Witch specialties pass down froood at bloodcraft too?" I translated to Molly

"Yes," she said tightly

"Then we need to investigate your sisters," Jesse concluded

Before she could yell at him he rushed to say, "Molly, I’ve known more than one prostitute as uy beat the shit out of her every night And this Alonzo must have turned hundreds of vampires over the years If just one of thee hiet back at you"

Molly visibly flinched away from hi Jesse across the face as hard as I could In that , but because he was amy hurt friend even more

"No," Molly said at last "I don’t believe it Maybe one of them would come after me on her own, but none of Alonzo’s villani would turn ainst their will" Jesse looked like he wanted to argue, but she added, "Even if they did, none of eles And I have no way of finding Alonzo’s other offspring"

Jesse absorbed that for about ten seconds and then moved on "Okay, did Alonzo have friends or allies who could have done this?" he asked "So hih, and it definitely had an edge of hysteria Jesse glanced ed

"I’ht you knew The answer is everyone Most of the Old World thinks I should die for killing Alonzo I’ve been a pariah since the day I took his head I’ve had to run--" she cut herself off, shaking her head to say it didn’t ot it This hy she’d moved in an unusual pattern across the US, why she’d laid low even though her tormenter was dead Because people bla the abusive moth--"

"You’re both human," Molly interrupted, her voice so quiet that I was forced to shut up or arten teacher move, but very effective "But you have parents, or you did once Can you i them, violently and in cold blood? Even if they hurt you, even if they" she trailed off

I went still, and I felt Jesse do the same, afraid to break the spell of her words "And those are just your parents," she said abruptly "There are no ic evolved for loyalty We are reborn needing to obey our master We may kill another vampire for war, for territory, but your dominus, the one who sired you?" her voice broke "You have no idea how hard that is, or how taboo I was lucky"--she gave a bitter chuckle--"they didn’t kill ht have Dashiell was the only va to take me in"

I stared at her with my es of even the sood guy? I suppose it shouldn’t have surprisedfor a cardinal vampire, and had a lot of ideas that didn’t necessarily fit with the old ways