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No, wait, he could start by telling her how he had become—well, not human.
Whatever that meant.
He sighed and settled on the couch beside her. “Well, I’ll start at the history and work my way up. I’m sure you have realized by now—” He hesitated over the name and grimaced. “Elijah and I aren’t what you’d call…normal. Human. We were born in the year eighteen fifty-four.” He paused, clearly expecting a reaction from her. Receiving a simple, serene nod, he gritted his teeth and continued. “Elijah was born ten minutes before me. As the heir, he was always so tense. So wound up. In what was probably a way to rebel against his responsibilities, he became a rake and loved taking risks. The only time I ever saw him relax was in Amelia’s company. He’d been betrothed to a woman, a young lady of quality, a few years before Amelia died. He’d have gained a lot of land with the match. Her name was Louisa. Back then, though, she went by Lady Harding.
“Amelia grew up by us, but when we reached an appropriate age, it became more than friendship. We got betrothed six months before she died, and life was never better for me. Stolen kisses in the barn. Long walks in the meadow. She had the most gorgeous curly hair.” He rubbed Sabrina’s hair between his fingers of his left hand. “And absolutely glorious green eyes.” He ran his fingers over her brow with his right hand. “Like I had never seen…until now.”
“Wait, a second. I didn’t want to interrupt, but are you telling me she looked like me? That’s what this is all about? I resemble her?”
“Yes. She looked as much like you as I do like Elijah. When I first saw you, in the tavern, you took my breath away. I knew, as surely as I was seeing you, Elijah would, too.”
Bewildered, she took a deep, calming breath. She was the spitting image of Amelia—their long-lost, cheating love? Whom they both wanted back?
Jeez, it sure sounded like a healthy start to a new relationship. Not.
“Well, I dreamt about Elijah before I saw you.”
His cold mask was back, and he inquired, “You did? I had no idea.”
“Yes. It’s why I stared at you like you were a ghost. I thought I was going insane.”
“I was too busy thinking you were a ghost to notice you staring at me.” He snickered and grinned. The ice-man was gone, thank God.
“Understandable, I suppose,” she murmured.
“But I digress. One day, Elijah and Amelia were alone in the meadow and we walked upon Amelia and Elijah, entwined in the grass.” His eyes held a haunted look, and she knew he was replaying the scene in his head. Reaching out, she put a comforting hand on his knee. He covered her hand with his and smiled lopsidedly. “Louisa walked beside me, but I picked up something odd from her. She scared me. I scoffed at myself even though I quickened my stride to match hers.
“I heard her hiss, and she was crouched on the ground. I tried to run. To warn them.” He chuckled. “I never stood a chance. She was on me before I took more than three steps. She slammed me to the ground, and I knew I was going to die…and so were they. The last thing I saw before her teeth ripped into my neck was Elijah and Amelia, kissing and whispering words of love. They looked so happy.” His words drifted off as he stared into space. His eyes focused on hers once more, and they held a sad and angry tone to them she’d not before seen him have. She realized he looked more like Elijah than ever before.
“I have no idea what happened after, but I heard the screams. I knew she’d gotten them. She killed Amelia, but me and Elijah, she…bit. I guess she thought it would be funny if he had to live eternally with a brother who despised him.” He smiled in a mocking manner, and she squeezed his hand in an attempt to reassure him.
“So, you’re a…vampire?” she whispered.
“Nope, I’m not. Elijah is. I am an even weirder freak of nature. There are very few of my kind. We were chosen to be a group of the elite. The elite monsters, what a joke.” He chuckled coarsely. “We’re called Enforcers. Believe it or not, all the mythical creatures you’ve heard of do exist: werewolves, vampires, shifters.
“Well, we are the top of the food chain, so to speak. We attempt to protect humans by eliminating the dredge of all immortals. If I need to fight a vampire, I get those powers. The same goes for the other creatures. I’m all of these monsters, in one neat package. But, Sabrina, Elijah is a vampire. He could kill, crush, or bite you, and you couldn’t do a thing to stop him. I got taken down by a tiny woman. Picture that. Imagine how strong they must be. You can’t trust him, not even for one measly second,” he pleaded.
She ignored his pleas for a more pressing question on her mind. “How? How do you get chosen to be an Enforcer?”
“They look at the time you died. Were you pure of heart? Or doing things that don’t match their values? Are you willing to put your life at risk to save others, or do you care only for your own wants and desires? Since I died trying to save Elijah and Amelia—even in the face of such a betrayal—the Council deemed my moral qualities upstanding. Therefore, I am an Enforcer.
“Whereas people like Elijah, who died betraying his brother, are deemed beneath their notice, and therefore become whatever monster they are doomed to be. In Elijah’s case, a vampire.”
“So, if you die while helping someone, you are automatically an Enforcer?” she questioned in confusion. “If so, there should be a lot of you around.”
“Not as many as one might think. They don’t just look at the moment of your death. They look at your whole life. From the time you were a child to the time you die. It’s not a split-second decision. It isn’t even up to the Enforcers. It is up to the Council.”
“The council?” she squeaked.
“Yes. There’s a judge’s panel, of sorts, although no one’s ever seen them. Or will. But, we all answer to them. And by us, I mean the Enforcers. They decide who’s worthy, and who isn’t, and we’re sent by their orders to ‘collect’ them.”
“Is the order sent by carrier pigeon?” She fought back the urge to burst into hysterical laughter. Un-freaking believable.
“Don’t be silly.” He grinned. “They’re too unreliable. By owl, of course.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously,” he assured her.
