“That one I can answer,” the old man said. “Humans with amnesia spend too much time poking around in their own past, trying to dig up a history. It’s better if they’re in on their own punishment.”

“Fascinating,” Reg said.

Oh, please.

“It’s hardly fascinating.”

“Well, there, Charlie, maybe you’ll be fascinated by the taste of those eggs.” The old guy pointed his fork at my plate. “Give her a shot. I’m kind of proud of that recipe.”

I crossed my arms and leaned back, but my stomach gurgled again, arguing with me.

Reg gave an apologetic smile. “Charlie and I have forgotten what hunger feels like. But we certainly haven’t forgotten our manners.” He aimed the last bit at me and made a point of lifting his fork and stabbing at the eggs.

“Had manners once, did she?” The old man asked, letting out one of those raspy laughs.

Reg stuffed a forkful of the eggs into his mouth. His eyes closed almost immediately, and he moaned as he swallowed. “Wow.”

“Told ya. It’s my secret recipe.”

“It’s . . . it defies description,” Reg raved. “Thank you so much . . . er, I don’t believe we caught your name.”

“I kind of like it when you call me sir.”

“I’m not calling you that,” I said. “What’s the big mystery? Just tell us your name.”

“You want my name?” His fork clattered to the plate, and he cracked his gnarled old knuckles. “All right, then, let’s get on with it. Good a time as any.”

He looked each of us in the eye. “My name is Salvador Sicarius.”

No!

Reg and I were out of our chairs in an instant, our backs pressed against the kitchen’s stone wall.

“Assassin!” Reg hissed.

“Slayer!” I cried simultaneously.

Our heads tilted back in identical motions, mouths open to expose our fangs, but of course we had none.

The old man—no, the slayer—collected his fork, waving it in our direction. “You’re going to want to break that habit. You look pretty silly making those faces without your pointy incisors.”

I sucked my lips back over my teeth, feeling foolish, yes, but mostly afraid. Next to me, Reg’s eyes darted right and left, looking for an escape route.

“You lied to us,” Reg said.

“Did not.”

“Did too,” Reg insisted.

I managed an eye roll, despite my fear. “Really?”

“We know your name,” Reg said, never taking his eyes off the assassin. “Every vampire from here to Transylvania knows your name. And we know what you can do.”

Salvador Sicarius went back to shoveling eggs into his mouth. “I suspect I can do a heck of a lot less than you think I can. But yeah, I get that a lot.”