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I wasn't sure I agreed, but I tried to expel that image from my brain and let her continue.
"So we went back and forth and eventually he gave me the book. It was like an alternate history, almost. Except it was specifically about vampire history. At first, I was disappointed because I thought it was just some kind of made-up story. But I spent weeks cross-referencing it and found all sorts of obscure facts that lined up with the information in this book. But eventually, it led me to a place that used to be a vampire's home in Chicago. Now it's a bar, and that's how I met Steve."
"Steve... Steve the vampire?"
"Yes," she said, still patient as ever. "Steve showed me it's all real. But they aren't as bad as the stories. But he said it would fix you. If you turned, I mean."
"Wait," I held up my hands. "Can you slow down for a second? I'm trying to process this and it's just not-"
There was a loud sound from the hallway. I heard thumping, a muffled shout, then a low, terrifying growl.
Maisey shot to her feet. "Steve," she whispered, rushing toward the door.
I grabbed her arm to hold her back. "Hey! Don't go out there. We don't know what that was."
The door burst open and a tall, thin man with his hood up stumbled in. He was bleeding heavily. "Run," he said weakly to Maisey.
A pair of men appeared in the doorway behind him, yanking him back into the hallway. Maisey tried to follow after him, but I barely managed to pull her back.
A large man with long, silver hair stepped into the room. He wore a sleek black suit and had pale gray eyes. He immediately reminded me of Lucian Malfoy from Harry Potter, which gave me an instant bad taste in my mouth.
"Well," he said in an American accent, which slightly dulled the Lucian impression. "Steve really has caused quite the mess, hasn't he?"
"Who are you?" Maisey demanded.
"My name is Lazarus, and I'm what's called a cleaner. When our kind make mutts like you," he pointed to Maisey, and the coldness contained in the gesture made my blood feel like it was icing over. "They send me to clean up the mess."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Maisey said, but even I could tell she was lying.
The man approached us, then sniffed deeply right next to my sister's face. He pulled back with a satisfied grin. "Then let me pretend you're not lying to my face. Our mutual friend, Steve, initiated the process of turning you into one of our kind. Steve did not possess authorization from the Coven to do this. That makes you a soon-to-be unwelcome addition to our ranks." With a shrug that looked like it was meant to be between friends, he winked. "I'm sure you can see why we can't allow that."
"What are you saying?" I asked.
He regarded me then, as if noticing me for the first time. I felt my spine stiffen under his gaze.
I distantly noticed more commotion in the hallway, which I assumed was Steve putting up a fight against the two men who'd grabbed him. I couldn't be certain, though. Steve didn't look like he was in any condition to put up a fight, but I definitely could hear bodies slamming around against the walls and the sounds of a struggle.
Lazarus half-turned toward the hall, nostrils twitching. The corner of his mouth pulled up like he'd just tasted something bad. "A werewolf?" he asked under his breath. He turned to regard us again with a new, more intense look on his face. "Were you working with the rebels?"
Werewolf? Part of me still felt like I was in the middle of some dorky cosplay event gone wrong. I halfway expected him to start yelling "fireball" and tossing little felt fireball cutouts from his pocket at me any minute. But I knew my sister better than anyone. If she believed something, I believed it. And I could still see the image of the bloodied man who had just stumbled into our apartment.
It was all in front of my eyes, but my brain still couldn't grab on. It felt like being pushed down an icy hill and trying to find a handhold. Everything was moving so fast and I couldn't slow down enough to get my bearings.
Lazarus loomed over us, and I couldn't say how, but I was sure he was deciding if he was going to kill us or not. I felt it in my bones.
I tried to swallow, but my mouth was completely dry.
Maisey inched in front of me. "Leave my sister out of this. She's still completely human."
Lazarus frowned, and I saw his ears must've been picking up something from the hallway outside I couldn't make out. Then a wicked smile appeared on his face. "You're both human," he said, a little louder than he'd been talking before. "But the Coven has decided to extend my jurisdiction to those who fraternize with dissenters. You have one month to run. If you survive it, we'll call off the hunt. Until we meet again, humans," he added.
