Stop now! the demon cried.

Fine. I loosened my hold, but immediately tightened it again. The demon howled, and I waited for it to stop to ask my next question.

Who is the Master?

Have no Master.

Liar. All vampires have a master.

Not true. Many do not.

I applied more pressure and it struggled uselessly. But you’ve met a Master, haven’t you? I want to know his name.

He has no name. Stop. Hurts.

Then tell me where he is. Tell me something.

Can’t.

I zapped it again and the membrane started to harden. I can do this as long as I need to.

The demon’s scream filled my head. Then a picture formed in my mind of a stately stone house with turrets that made me think of a castle. Excitement rippled through me. But then the image disappeared before it could come completely into focus.

Where was that? Show it again.

Can’t. Hurts.

Show me!

The demon began to scream and shake until I thought it was going to explode. I realized then that I was getting nothing else out of it and I pulled back.

From out of nowhere, another image floated into my mind, faded and grainy like an old photograph. For a second, I thought the demon was trying to show me something else. I looked at the image and saw a dark-haired couple sitting on a beach with a little girl between them who couldn’t be more than ten. The three of them were laughing and the girl was pointing at the person whose memory I was seeing. The girl looked vaguely familiar...

I knew the human remained after the vamhir took control of the body; my experience with Nate had proven that. But aside from Nate, I’d never thought about the human souls trapped inside of vampires. Nate remembered most of his short time as a vampire except for the things he had been compelled to forget. He still struggled with the memories. It had to be a special kind of hell to be trapped like that inside your own body, knowing death was the only way you would be free.

I looked at the memory again, and this time I could feel the pain and longing that clung to it. The demon had taken the girl from her family a long time ago, and she still grieved for them and the life stolen from her.

My chest tightened, and I felt a tear run down my face. What is wrong with me? Am I actually crying for a vampire?

No, not for the vampire. My heart ached for the teenage girl who had suffered so much. I wished I could help her, but the kindest thing I could do was to end her horrible existence.

Another memory floated toward me. I didn’t want to look. I didn’t want to feel more of the girl’s pain. But then a familiar voice filled my mind, and I cringed from my own memories of it. Hello, sweet thing. I forced myself to look at the memory she was trying to show me, and a shard of fear pierced my heart when I saw Eli’s dark eyes and charming smile. The vampire who had tried to kill me was the same one who had taken this girl.

I felt it then, the delicate connection forging between me and the nameless girl who had been taken years before I was born. The vampire and I were mortal enemies, but the girl and I shared something that went beyond that. Our lives had been changed forever by the same monster. But I was free and she still suffered.

Suddenly, I understood what I needed to do. Whether it worked or not didn’t matter. I had the power in me to set this tormented soul free, and I couldn’t refuse her that. I wasn’t sure if I believed in fate, but it felt like some greater power had brought this vampire to me.

The demon trembled violently and the heart stuttered as I gathered my power.

No! it screamed. You said you’d stop.

I changed my mind, I said without remorse.

Then I struck.

Chapter 22

“Goddamnit, Sara, do not do this to me again.”

Disoriented, I opened my eyes and looked up into Nikolas’s distressed ones. “Why am I on the floor?”

He crushed me against his chest. “Fifty years. I’m locking you up for the next fifty goddamn years.”

“Can’t breathe,” I gasped, and he eased me back down to the floor.

“How do you feel?”

“Great.” I was still trying to figure out what I was doing down there, and why he was looking at me that way. “My butt is cold.”

Relief flashed in his eyes and a smile touched his mouth. “We can’t have that.” In the next instant, he was sitting on the floor with me cradled in his lap. “Better?”

“Much better.” I leaned my head against his chest, suddenly tired. God, what a night. First, I met the mother I hadn’t seen in sixteen years. If that wasn’t enough, we were ambushed by vampires. And then –

My head jerked up. The vampire girl!

Someone was sobbing, and it was the most heartwrenching sound I had ever heard. I twisted in Nikolas’s arms until I could see behind him. In the corner, curled into a tight ball, was the vampire. Only she wasn’t a vampire anymore. The absence of cold in my chest told me I’d done it again.

I tried to go to her, but Nikolas held me back. “It’s not safe.”

“Yes, it is.” I met his worried gaze. “Trust me. She won’t hurt anyone else.”

It was another minute before he reluctantly released me. I crawled over to the girl who cowered and cried even harder. “Shhh, it’s okay,” I crooned softly. “You’re safe now and no one is going to hurt you.”

Her entire body shook from her sobs, and the agony in her voice was almost too much to bear. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through or how terrifying this was for her. All I could do was try to help her through it.