Only six students remain on the roof. I expected more; the vamps must have taken the rest. Some of the teenagers wander randomly around the rooftop. Others lie on their backs, gazing up at the starry sky. Glazed eyes and slack faces suggest they’re all Hazed. The vamps must have pumped them full of Flame to keep them docile. Only one looks at me with sober eyes. A fair-haired girl, maybe eighteen, knees tight to her chest, cheeks white as paper. A mole marks her upper lip. She sits on the gravel at the feet of the farthest vampire. The terror in her wide gaze punches my gut. Please, she mouths.

My body ignites.

The vampires step back.

All except Radomir. He watches with interest. “We are not your enemy, Whisperer,” he says, voice like silk.

“Then it’s simple. Leave the Channelers.”

Without taking his eyes off me, Radomir speaks to his brethren in a language I don’t recognize—like Russian but more singsong. The vamp next to the blonde girl grabs her by the wrist and throws her over his shoulder.

She kicks and struggles, but it’s useless. Her desperate cries rip a hole through my chest.

Radomir watches me.

Is this a test?

I point my hand at the vampire with his squirming load. I have no idea if I can pull Flame without hurting the girl, but I’ll have to try.

“Flame! I’m calling you.”

Yes, Whisperer.

A sparking bolt of light arcs from the vampire and hits me in the chest. So do two more. Three vamps drop to the ground, bodies contorting, faces twisted with agony. The student yelps with pain but scurries away on hands and knees. I let the Flame surge through me and feed the silver-white fire covering my body till flames lick across the roof. A river of ecstasy tingles my organs and swells my groin. So good.

Every other vampire jumps back, eyes wide with fear.

Except Radomir. He doesn’t flinch. Stop, Michael. I hear in my mind. We are your own.

“Leave!”

He raises a hand. “You have made your point, young one. Let them go. We will leave.”

For a moment I contemplate stripping Flame from the other three as well, making sure they get the message, but they can’t move while the Flame leaves them.

Stop. I say in my head, and the bolts of light snap back to the vampires. As soon as the gushing energy recedes, my knees give out. I drop to the roof, a bone-deep tiredness overwhelming my limbs. My vision clouds again. Stretching my weakening hands causes pins and needles to chase the length of my arms. I grit my teeth against a wash of pain, my spine burning like it’s funneling fire.

Radomir holds out a hand, palm up. “Come with us, Michael. You can feed and be strong. We are your family.” So he knows my name.