The drive following the jet landing was nerve-wracking. I was fascinated by the buildings as we drove through St. Louis. I had ignorantly assumed Missouri to be one of those backwater southern states in which only wooden cabins and churches existed. Instead of mass amount of hillbillies walking about with no shoes on, I saw what one would typically see in a New Jersey city except with smaller buildings and less diversity in culture.

As we were stopped at a red light, I watched a group of people conversing on a street corner, probably on some sort of trip together. I wondered if I called out to them what would happen. If I revealed my abducted status, would they call the police? Would they try to help me?

I glanced at Jacobi, who was seated next to me. He was watching me in the darkness. Again, something about the way he looked at me made me think he knew what had crossed my mind. I frowned, but turned to look at the street again. What would be the risk in trying to get someone to save me? The most obvious one would be that I'd get hurt, but then I'll probably be dead soon. The second option would be that I'd get away, but Xander and Aveline's claim on me would prove very unfortunate for me. And the third option would be that anyone who tried to help me would be killed horribly.

I sighed as we finally continued on our trip. Once we were on the outskirts of the city, we moved onto a stranded road which led through a path of trees. Occasionally there were signs that warned intruders of trespassing onto private property.

After passing through large barred gates, we pulled into a large circular driveway which framed a ridiculous landscape of animal shaped bushes and statues. It appeared the McElroy coterie's headquarters were near mansion-like as well. The shape of the building was different; more oval than rectangular. Once the vehicle stopped in front of the entrance, I felt my anxiety increase. I was about to greet a new coterie, one which hated me now more than Jacobi's coterie did at this point.

Jacobi exited the vehicle first, moving around to open my door most gentleman-like. He held out his arm for me to grab, though he wasn't looking at me as he did so. I hesitated, but linked my arm through his and prayed my life wouldn't end that night.

There were figures standing almost like security guards on certain steps of the entrance. As we past them, I openly stared with curiosity. They looked the same as any other vampire, but for some reason I could sense they weren't as strong as the vampires I had met so far.

When we began to enter the doors of the headquarters, one vampire caught my eyes with his and snarled angrily. I immediately gasped, stepping closer into Jacobi who turned and growled dangerously at the angry figure. Even though no actual words were spoken, the vampire looked away and ignored us. I looked up at Jacobi, my eyes shining with uncomfortable fear. He moved his free hand over mine, which was clinging onto his forearm with new vigor, and kept walking into the headquarters.

Stay close, I reminded myself. I ignored that initial distrust towards Jacobi and kept my body as close to his as I could while still allowing us to walk without falling over. Once we were inside the main entrance of the headquarters, Jacobi stood still, pulling me to halt next to him. I looked around, stunned by the intense theme of snow white walls, diamond figurines, and golden accessories which accompanied the interior of the headquarters. If anything, it appeared that somebody was trying altogether too hard.

"What do we do now?" I whispered to Jacobi, as though any vampire wouldn't hear me with their sensitive ears.

"We wait," He responded simply, not bothering to speak quietly. I nearly jumped at the echo which followed his words. "Relax, Elysia. I won't let anyone harm you." Before I could attempt to relax, a door was opened abruptly, causing me to tighten my grip on Jacobi even more. An unknown woman made her way to our location and bowed briefly.

"Master McElroy is ready to receive you, Master Bryant," The woman announced, glancing up to glare at me. "And your... guest." I blinked at her, taking in her gorgeous features. All I saw was wavy raven hair, angry cocoa eyes, and silky ivory skin before she was turning away and disappearing in the distance.

Jacobi moved us to follow her, appearing at ease as if we weren't on someone else's territory. But I was silly to think he'd be any tenser than he usually was. How often did his status require him to enter someone's territory? How long had he been a Master of his own territory? I looked at him carefully as he led us to this other Master. I couldn't tell how old he was based on looking at him. Obviously, as a vampire, he didn't age physically. I would have placed his human age as being around 25-30 years old when he was turned, but I couldn't be certain.

I didn't notice when we were suddenly walking through a set of doors and in front of a new audience until Jacobi froze. I slowly moved my gaze from his form to the scene around us and a cry immediately escaped my throat. There were dead women and men everywhere. Their blood painted the floors and the furniture. Wounds were gaping at their necks and a glance at the vampires standing nearby made it clear just who had ended those lives.

I tried to stumble back, as though by retreating I could pretend I'd never seen those dead bodies spread helplessly around me. Jacobi still had his grip on my arm, but I tried to pull myself from him in utter terror. He abruptly released my arm, but instead grasped my face in his hands to pull my eyes to his. I felt nauseous, my fear thick in my stomach and wanting its own type of release. Tears were burning my eyes, but even with the images of death staining my vision, I could still see Jacobi through them.

"Calm, Elysia, calm down," He called to me carefully. I reached up to grab his hands, wanting to throw him off of me and make a run for it, but feeling myself strangely beginning to gain my senses under his stare.

"How can you be so calm?" I whispered to him, again forgetting that any vampire could easily hear the words leaving my mouth.

"Now isn't the time," Jacobi told me, "Don't look at them." I knew he was talking about the dead humans on the floor. When he turned away, I kept my eyes on his form, refusing to look around in fear of losing my senses due to all the death around me. How long ago was it that my mother became one of those lifeless corpses? And even then the thought of seeing that empty shell struck fear through me. Now I was surrounded by their death. It felt like some sort of divine revenge.

I jumped when a burst of laughter erupted on the other side of the room.

"Surely that isn't the girl your Kindred was talking about," The voice announced, his voice booming around the room. I carefully moved my eyes from Jacobi to the location of the voice, avoiding the blurry death in my peripheral vision. The room reminded me of something like a throne room, where in the front center of the room was a large chair with smaller seats on either side of it.

Aveline, Xander, Corentine, and Wyatt were standing to the right side looking rather uncomfortable but keeping their expressions pleasant. The only one who couldn't seem to keep up appearances was Xander, who I noted looked just short of lifeless. I had a sudden urge to go to him and take him from here, where the humans he no doubt rounded up had been mercilessly slaughtered. I knew he would feel guilty about it. So long he had been trying to avoid the terror that was Vincent's nature and now he would feel their deaths as though he had done it himself.

In the chairs sat a few strangers. The woman who had led us here sat on the right side chair, leaning towards the center which I would call the throne. Another woman was seated on the left side, but I had to look twice because I noticed she wasn't just sitting in the chair. Her arms and legs were shackled to the seat. I felt strongly drawn to her as though she were... family. I tilted my head, moving my eyes from her shackles to her face where her own eyes were watching me openly.

"I see you decided not to keep my gifts," Jacobi interrupted my gaze by addressing the man who was seated on the center chair; the throne. I pulled my eyes from the chained woman to look at the vampire who was no doubt supposed to be Noland McElroy. He was... scrawny. His limbs were all too long and dangly as he sat stretched out on his personal throne. His hair was short and brown, his eyes were sapphires, and his attire spotless. He wore an expensive suit, appearing far more professional than Jacobi's clothing choices. Still, even with the throne and suit, he looked... like a teenage boy before he was properly able to get past puberty.

"I took them, didn't I?" The boy Master spoke, smirking haughtily.

"Killing all of them is just a little..." Jacobi looked around slowly, but I refused to follow his gaze, "... immature." I could tell the insult stung Noland. He sat up in his throne, glaring furiously at Jacobi.

"I can do whatever I want with my gifts. If you don't like it, leave," He waved towards the exit. His eyes met my form. "Or stay. I want to show you something." I couldn't tell if he meant the last statement to be for me or for Jacobi.

"We're not here to play show and tell. This is strictly business," Jacobi answered him anyway.

"This is my territory. If you want to do any business with me, you'll shut the hell up," Noland snapped. When Jacobi surprisingly didn't respond, he smirked once again as though pleased with himself. "Good. Let me show you something." Noland got up from his throne and moved in front of the woman who was shackled to the seat next to him. He quickly released and forcefully tugged her to her feet before pulling her in front of us.

The woman was in a sheer light purple party dress. It was rumpled in some places as though she had struggled against it. Her skin was soft and light brown with a bronze glow, her eyes a striking pale brown if not hazel, and her hair was braided through the middle with a brave undercut on either side. She appeared to be more of a violent rocker type of girl. The dress didn't suit her at all. It wasn't until I realized that Noland was staring at me that he had intended this greeting for me after all.

"This little gem here," Noland told me, petting the woman's shoulder where bite wounds were still clear on her skin, "Is Clio Lenne. She was a little tough to get ahold of. Killed a few of my coterie, didn't you, you little bitch?" He pulled back on her hair, making her grunt, but she didn't seem afraid or anything short of angry. I moved forward almost instinctively, though I wasn't sure what I was planning on doing, but Jacobi grabbed my arm to hold me back. Noland smirked at me before looking at Jacobi.

"Now you're not the only Master with a vampire hunter as a pet, Bryant," Noland stated, chuckling happily. I frowned, looking from him to Jacobi in confusion. Vampire hunter? Was he talking about me? Jacobi ignored my questioning glance. "Sure, a Lenne isn't as impressive as a Monet, but you get what you get." Noland released his painful grip on the woman, Clio, who glared at him before looking at me curiously.

"You're lying," She spat, glaring at Noland once again.

"Who, me?!" Noland clutched at his chest as though offended and then laughed. "I'm no liar. That little girl right there is one of your own. Elysia Monet, daughter of the famous Zachary Monet, trapped in the hands of Jacobi Bryant. Imagine all the horrible things he's done and going to do to a member of your favorite hunter family." I widened my eyes, staring at Clio, my confusion deepening.

I had known the Monet family had killed many vampires. I knew the vampires saw them as enemies and monsters. I didn't know why I hadn't thought of the chance that they were vampire hunters. I could remember Aveline's attempt to snatch The Tyranny of Vampire Hunters from my book collection. I wondered if it had mentioned my family. Perhaps that's why she didn't want me to read it, in case I realized what I was and tried to act on it. A vampire hunter, me?

And this woman who watched me with suspicion and confusion was one, too. Maybe that's why I felt drawn to her. Maybe I recognized my own kind and wanted to protect it. I thought of how I had attacked Vincent. I had instinctively known how to hurt him. It was in my blood.

"Turn your pet around, Bryant, show the Lenne girl what you've done," Noland ordered gleefully, enjoying the meeting between two vampire hunters lost in the grasp of their prey. I looked at Jacobi with a different type of fear. No wonder he wouldn't allow me to live. It didn't matter who my father was anymore. It mattered what I was. If I was a hunter by birth, with supernatural ability that's no doubt to be used specifically to end vampire life, then it would be illogical to let me live. I would be a ticking time bomb, especially now that I knew a few of the ins and outs of the vampire world.

Before Jacobi could reach for me, I turned to run from the room. I wasn't sure how I was planning on escaping, but my impulsive decision was promptly squandered by Jacobi's rough hands snatching my upper arms. He pulled me to him, turning me so my back was towards the room and consequently Noland. I heard the sharp intake of an audible gasp coming from the woman, Clio, but I didn't pay much attention. My eyes were locked in Jacobi's intense stare.

I wanted to ask so many questions; to try to clear my name and assure him that I wouldn't become an actual hunter. But his expression was grave and nearly threatening. It told me this wasn't the time to ask questions. We had to play nice with the boy Master in order to get in his good graces so that Corentine could be accepted into his coterie.

"Brutal. I'd like to punish my hunter like that sometime," Noland chuckled happily. Jacobi finally looked away from me, releasing his grip on my arms so I could move away from the spot light. I stayed close to him regardless, afraid of tripping over a corpse or running into an enemy vampire.

"If you're finished," Jacobi began to address the boy Master when suddenly I lunged. I wasn't sure how I felt anything was about to happen. All I knew was that Jacobi was being attacked and on instinct I had thrown myself between him and his attacker. Clio had somehow stashed a weapon on her person. It was a small kitchen knife, not silver and relatively useless towards vampires. I could only assume her point was to simply hurt if not irritate Jacobi, though I wasn't sure why him.

Within a span of a single breath, I had leapt into the crossfire, lifting my arm up to block both myself and Jacobi. I felt a burning flame of the knife slicing across my arm, causing me to cry out and double over, grasping at the new wound. I only had time to see Clio's shocked expression before I sensed a new attack... from Jacobi. With blind impulse, I propelled my hands against Clio's chest and knocked her form to the ground, blocking her from him just as he was swinging to deliver a vicious blow to her face. With his power, it would probably have killed her instantly.

I closed my eyes, expecting him to hit me as a result. When no further pain followed, I blinked and looked at Jacobi, who had halted his fist almost the second I had moved in the way. All the vampires in the room including those of Jacobi's coterie had gathered closer, standing in a protective stance to attack on behalf of their Masters.

"Don't hurt her," I breathed, pleading without taking my eyes from his. He lowered his hand slowly, obviously not used to backing down from being attacked. It made me wonder what he had done after Vincent had knocked me unconscious.

"She hurt you," Jacobi told me, indicating to my arm, "I expect equal compensation." This last statement he directed to Master Noland, who had been watching with great intrigue.

"I'm not afraid of you fucks," Clio suddenly growled from the ground behind me, "You can try to pick us off one by one, but news flash: we're still winning. If you don't believe that, go ask your shithead Royals." I winced at the stab towards the Royals' mass amounts of death. Jacobi reached for me, but I jerked away in fear. I feared both for myself and for Clio. I didn't know her, but something made me want to protect her. Perhaps it was because she was like me... definitely more outspoken and dangerous than me, but like me just the same.

"I won't retaliate. Come here," Jacobi reached for me again. I hesitated, but knowing he wasn't going to kill Clio just as soon as I moved made me braver. I moved to him, holding my wounded arm in my grip and hoping it wouldn't be too horribly painful later on. "Are we finished for now?" Jacobi asked Noland dangerously. His tone clearly stated if we weren't close to being finished, he was going to order his entire coterie to come finish this for him.

"Ah, fine," Noland almost pouted before looking at Clio, "You can stay at the guest rooms. My coterie will show you where." Before we could leave the suffocating room full of corpses, Noland kicked Clio in the back painfully. She yelped, arching her back in pain on the floor before he kicked her again.

"Stop!" I moved to help her, but Jacobi had me locked firmly in his grip and was pulling me from the room. "Stop! Let me go!" I struggled to get out of his grasp, but he only continued to move us towards the guest rooms with Xander, Aveline, Wyatt, and Corentine following. Meanwhile, I was left with the sound of Clio's hurt cries as she proceeded to get beaten behind closed doors. I couldn't help her. I couldn't help myself.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for being so patient. I know this was the longest I made you guys wait for an update since I first began writing this thing. :3 I hope I didn't disappoint.