“It’s a name she gave herself, because she has probably long since forgotten whatever moniker was assigned to her at birth.” Sal’s mouth slipped out of its grim line for a moment to reveal the slightest lift at the corner. “She’s never been one to let others tell her who she is, but it takes some real moxie to name yourself the first.”

“Could she actually be one of the first?” I asked.

No one seemed to know the true origin of vampires, thanks to the “welcome to the team” mind swipe and the addled brains of the oldest Ancients.

“Charlie, really?” Reg chided.

“What?”

“The first vampires were much shorter in stature than Lina, from a time before humans evolved to modern heights.”

“And I’m supposed to know that?”

“How could you possibly not know that?”

“Well, I can’t exactly google it, can I?”

That earned a smile from Reg. “Crack a book for once.”

“Vampire books are dusty and boring,” I said. “Just like the Elders.”

“And yet you are so interested in someone even older than they are.”

I turned my attention back to Sal. “How much older is she?”

“Adelina walked this earth long before clans were formed,” Sal said. “And like a lot of vamps of a certain age, she had little use for the new vampire politics and structures. Every clan wanted her as a founder. Every clan was declined.”

I tried to imagine which clan would have been a good fit for Lina. She clearly wasn’t thirsty enough for the Blood Clan, and she was much too social for the Shadows. She was a business owner and still sharp, despite her immortal age. With that intelligence and ambition, she would have been a nice fit for Bone Clan.

“She hated killing,” Sal said. “So, even though she never made it official, she spent a fair amount of time among the Starlight.”

I frowned. I supposed human-hugging hippie sounded like Lina too.

“In fact, if she liked killing a little more, we probably never would have met, and I wouldn’t be sitting here now.” He drained the last of his coffee and slid the mug to the side. “Back when I was still . . . active, I liked to hunt down the traveling groups—the ones that roamed the world, feeding and turning as they went. I tracked one group up to Canada, cornered them on an island in the middle of a great lake. I could have taken them all out that night, but they refused to fight—kind of took the fun out of it.”

“And you just let them go?” I couldn’t keep the skepticism out of my voice. No slayer would be so benevolent.