At first, I was too dazzled to figure out what he meant. Then, across the empty room, I saw a jail cell. Large metal bars covered the entrance, which was locked with another card reader and keypad. It seemed like overkill when I caught sight of the man inside. He was older than me, mid-twenties if I had to guess, and had a disheveled appearance that made Keith look neat and tidy. The man was gaunt and curled up in a corner, arms draped over his eyes against the light. He wore handcuffs and feet cuffs and clearly wasn’t going anywhere. At our entrance, he dared a peek at us and then uncovered more of his face.

A chill ran through me. The man was human, but his expression was as cold and evil as any Strigoi I’d ever seen. His gray eyes were predatory. Emotionless, like the kinds of murderers who had no sense of empathy for other people.

“Have you brought me dinner?” he asked in a raspy voice that had to be faked. “A nice young girl, I see. Skinnier than I’d like, but I’m sure her blood is still succulent.”

“Liam,” said Zeke with a weary patience. “You know where your dinner is.” He pointed to an untouched tray of food in the cell that looked like it had gone cold long ago. Chicken nuggets, green beans, and a sugar cookie. “He almost never eats anything,” Zeke explained to me. “It’s why he’s so thin. Keeps insisting on blood.”

“What… what is he?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off of Liam. It was a silly question, of course. Liam was clearly human, and yet… there was something about him that wasn’t right.

“A corrupt soul who wants to be Strigoi,” said Zeke. “Some guardians found him serving those monsters and delivered him to us. We’ve tried to rehabilitate him but with no luck. He keeps going on and on about how great the Strigoi are and how he’ll get back to them one day and make us pay. In the meantime, he does his best to pretend he’s one of them.”

“Oh,” said Liam, with a sly smile, “I will be one of them. They will reward my loyalty and suffering. They will awaken me, and I will become powerful beyond your miniscule mortal dreams. I will live forever and come for you—all of you. I will feast on your blood and savor every drop. You Alchemists pull your strings and think you control everything. You delude yourselves. You control nothing. You are nothing.”

“See?” said Zeke, shaking his head. “Pathetic. And yet, this is what could happen if we didn’t do the job we did. Other humans could become like him—selling their souls for the hollow promise of immortality.” He made the Alchemist sign against evil, a small cross on his shoulder, and I found myself echoing it. “I don’t like being in here, but sometimes… sometimes it’s a good reminder of why we have to keep the Moroi and the others in the shadows. Of why we can’t let ourselves be taken in by them.”