The Vampire Stalker (19 page)

“Will the vampires accept you?” I asked.

“Some of them consider me a traitor, and my relationship with James treason. But I am Vigo’s sister, which means I have a blood claim.”

“There will undoubtedly be a power struggle,” James said. “It took Vigo years to take control.”

“Vigo won through murder and intimidation,” Hannah pointed out. “I would not take the leadership that way.”

Alexander waved his hand. “Then you will have no chance. Vampires understand nothing but violence. You cannot deny that.”

“We will make them see differently,” James vowed.

“But your opponents will not hesitate to kill whoever gets in their way,” Alexander insisted. “Hannah, you undoubtedly remember the terror sprees when Vigo came to power. And that was before Leander became a contender. You know he’ll stop at nothing to take Vigo’s place.”

“I realize that. I will promise that anyone who is found to have killed another vampire in order to affect the election will be
executed. But I will not have anyone killed for refusing to support me. Absolutely not.”

James flinched. “But we said no violence at all, Hannah.”

She looked at him, and I saw the love in her eyes. “Whether there is violence or not will be up to our opponents. If our supporters are attacked, we will need to offer them protection — and we cannot do that with mere words. There is violence in a vampire’s blood, James. I believe that we are capable of evolution, but it will take time. It would be a mistake to forget our nature.”

He touched her face. “There isn’t violence in you, my love.”

She pressed his hand to her cheek, and avoided his gaze. In that moment I saw that Hannah loved him desperately, but she struggled to fight her vampire instincts. She adored James for his pacifist nature, but she didn’t share it.

I wasn’t sorry to know this about Hannah. She would need that killer instinct if she was to survive the power struggle. The only question was whether James could still love her once her true nature emerged. Maybe she wondered the same thing.

James steered the conversation on to lighter topics, asking about all aspects of our world. Katie and Luisa answered his questions eagerly. I noticed that James had a special way with people, a way of making them feel they were important and listened to. That would help him gain allies, both human and vampire. But would those qualities help him stay alive when Hannah’s bid at leadership made him a target?

Alexander had gone quiet. I couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling, knowing that he would never see his cousin again. Alexander would have no family left. All he would ever know about James’s fate would come in Book Three.

He wouldn’t be there to protect James anymore, and I knew that would be hard for him. But James had to carve out his own fate. Just as Alexander would … here, in my world.

It was time.

The early morning streets were virtually deserted, littered with the results of last night’s partying. It was still dark out, minutes away from sunrise. Katie and Luisa had gone home when we left the diner, so it was just the four of us now.

Alexander held my hand as we walked, gripping it tighter than necessary. I wished there was something I could say to make this less difficult for him.

When we reached the base of the bridge, Alexander said, “There it is. We shouldn’t get any closer.” He was looking down at the sensor he’d gotten from Ms. P. “It’s moved a few inches.”

“I see it.” I wouldn’t have spotted it if I hadn’t been looking closely, but there was an area near an embankment that had a slight waviness to it, like when you looked down the street on a humid summer day.

Alexander and James stood in front of each other, a lifetime of brotherhood between them.

“Good luck, cousin,” Alexander said. “I believe that you’ll achieve your goal.”

James hugged him. “I don’t know if you mean that, Alex. But I’m glad to hear you say it.” James took a step back and turned to me. “Take care of him, Amy. My cousin is more sensitive than he would have you believe.”

Alexander just shook his head.

Hannah came up to me. “Thank you for helping us.”

“You’ll be a great leader, Hannah.”

Alexander moved in front of her. “It may not make a difference now, but I apologize for how I treated you. I should have given you and James my blessing.”

She smiled, and it wasn’t the half smile I’d seen before but a full one, fangs and all. “It does make a difference.”

There was nothing more to say. James took Hannah’s arm, and they disappeared into the portal.

Alexander stood there in silence, unable to tear his eyes away from the portal.

“You’ll miss him,” I said, slipping an arm around his waist.

“Very much.”

“I have a feeling that Elizabeth Howard’s writer’s block will be over soon. We’ll be able to follow what’s happening in James’s life in Book Three.”

“I suppose so. But it will not be easy to read about the scrapes my cousin will get himself into without being able to go to his
assistance.” He took a breath. “At any rate, I expect to hear from Elizabeth soon. She will emerge from hiding once she knows the threat has passed.”

“I wonder if Elizabeth will try to keep you and Vigo as characters in Book Three, or if she’ll have to leave you out. Her readers are going to be really upset if she doesn’t show them what happened to you. I know I would be.”

“I imagine she will have to do what other writers do. Make something up.” Alexander turned and looked at me. “Or perhaps she could borrow from your fan fiction.”

“I’m done with fan fiction.” I only realized it as I was saying the words. “I’m ready to write something completely my own now.”

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“Um, let’s see…. It could be about a girl who falls in love with a character in a book, and then finds out that he’s real.”

He lifted a brow. “And would there be vampires in this book, by chance?”

“No, I’ve had enough of vampires. Maybe I’ll add zombies instead.”

At that, he smiled.

We stared at the portal for a while, watching it shimmer as the last traces of night evaporated from the sky.

“We should go.” I squeezed his arm.

“Yes. It’s time to go.”

“I never expected I would say this,” Alexander said as we walked away from the portal, “but I have great hope for my world. I think its story will end well.”

“What about
our
story?” I asked.

He stopped walking and turned to me. He lifted my chin, planted a soft kiss on my lips, and then smiled.

“Ours has just begun.”

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