When I had pictured our appeal, I hadn’t imagined that victory would come with such a catch. Immortality was within reach, but at what cost to our friends? To Sal? To everyone in Nowhere? It was a new and uncomfortable feeling, considering the needs of others in addition to my own. I hoped it would go away when I was vampire again.

“Charlie’s probably right that this is happening whether you help or not,” Lina said. “By agreeing, you save your immortal lives. If you had refused, the only thing you would have saved is your conscience.”

Lina had a way of not answering questions that left me wondering if she was reassuring us or scolding us.

“The migration sounds awful,” I said. “I wish there was another way.”

Lina looked through the windshield, but she was gazing at something much farther off than the road, a thousand miles away and a thousand years ago. “I remember a time when vampires had no rules. I can still see it when I close my eyes . . . entire villages coated in blood, painted red with the feed.”

The visual made me queasy, and it was almost impossible to believe that only recently, the same scene might have made me thirsty. It scared me how much I had changed in such a short amount of time—how much of myself I’d already lost.

“All of this just to babysit the Blood Clan,” I complained.

“Not really,” Reg said. “It’s clearly about the town.”

Lina agreed. “The Elder Seat has wanted it for a long time.”

“I understand why they keep the location secret, to prevent war over the land,” I said. “But why wouldn’t they pass down the story of the slayer origin? It could actually save vampire lives. Until I met Sal, I didn’t even know slayer power was in their skin, not their stakes.”

“I knew,” Reg said. “It’s not exactly a secret. It’s there in our history books, if you look for it.”

“But the undoing . . .” This time I did use my air quotes. “If it’s such a sacred moment for immortals, you’d think they’d tell us all about it.”

“Do you want to see it?” Lina asked quietly.

Reg and I both leaned toward her. “What do you mean?” I asked.

Lina did not answer, but instantly, a scene filled my vision, and I could tell by the way Reg slammed back in his seat that he was seeing it too.

“How are you doing this?” I cried in wonder. “Without venom?”

“Some Ancients can touch minds without using venom.” She then assured us, “I cannot take your memories. I can only share my own.”