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“I see dead

people,” Samantha insisted.

“I make them into an army,” Amaliya added.

Cian sighed.

“Don’t let her come, Cian. ” Amaliya glared at the man she loved with all her heart, but wanted to toss off the balcony.

“It’ll be bad if you do. Really bad,” Samantha agreed.

“It’s done. I already gave my word. You are both going to have to deal with it,” Cian said in a tone that was firm.

“Fuck me,” Amaliya sighed.

“You’re being a stupid man!” Samantha shifted her purse strap onto her shoulder and strode toward the door. “A complete stupid man!”

“I am the vampire mast-”

“Oh, shove it up your ass,” Samantha snarled and disappeared down the hallway.

Cian swiveled about to gaze at Amaliya evenly as Samantha slammed the door behind her as she exited the apartment.

She met his stare, raised her hand, and extended her middle finger. Clutching her phone, she darted past him and headed upstairs. She’d hang out in the TV room until she heard back from her grandmother.

“Amaliya!”

“Fuck you,” Amaliya answered.

Chapter 12

Cian stood in the dark, staring out over the sparkling lights of downtown Austin. After Amaliya and Samantha had stormed off, he had considered following Amaliya upstairs to speak to her reasonably. It had only taken the sound of the door upstairs slamming repeatedly for him to realize that he had best let Amaliya calm down before speaking to her again. Instead, he had turned off all the lights in the downstairs area and pondered the cityscape.

The change in Austin was dramatic. When Cian had arrived in the city, the tallest buildings had been the UT Tower, the capitol building, and the Westgate Tower. Now, towering buildings were rising up all around downtown. Construction sites dotted the area. Deep foundations were being dug behind hurricane fences and tall cranes hovered over the city.

Even in the residential neighborhoods, older houses were being torn down in favor of more modern structures. Lamar Boulevard was under transformation as well. Older stores were gone, replaced with new modern buildings that were reminiscent of other cities far away from Austin.

Yet, he couldn't mourn the past of Austin like others did. He was a vampire and during his long life he had watched the entire world change. Every decade was vastly different from the one before. Technology leaped forward every year now. Cian remembered his fascination with electricity, phones and automobiles when they had first appeared on the landscape, but now he updated his cellphones and computers without a second thought.

Everything changed as he remained the same. Forever twenty-seven, he would never see himself age, sicken and die. When his time came, it would be violent. There was no other form of death for a vampire.

When he had arrived in Austin, he had come with a purpose. The challenge laid down between The Summoner and Cian had been simple: If Cian could acquire a city, The Summoner would leave him to his own devices. Roberto and Cian had chosen Austin because it was a small city with a low population of supernatural creatures. The coyotes had run off any other type of weres and a war between black witches and white witches had destroyed their population. The vampire cabal had consisted of fairly young vampires who were more interested in living an extended youth with endless partying than being any sort of powerhouse among the supernatural world.

Christian, the vampire master of Austin, had welcomed Cian warmly. Too young to realize Cian was centuries older than he was, Christian had considered Cian an asset to his cabal. It was Cian's wealth that had seduced Christian, and Cian made sure to spoil the vampires with everything they desired.

It was among them that Cian had found what he desired: a lovely woman with a kind heart and gentle soul that loved him. A Russian exchange student who had never gone home, Galina had been incredibly beautiful with vivid blue eyes, long dark hair and pale skin. She was the mortal lover and blood minion to Christian. Despite the danger of upsetting the master of Austin, they had fallen in love and had a torrid affair behind Christian's back.

Pushing open the door to the balcony, Cian gazed toward the lake. It was there that he had betrayed the vampires. He had killed humans, deliberately leaving the telltale signs of a vampire. The police had quickly had a paranoid public on their hands. The Son of Sam murders and the Zodiac Killer had the population primed for a panic.

Roberto had helped Cian locate the local vampire hunters and Cian had brokered a deal with Jeff's father. The vampire hunters would destroy the cabal, and Cian, Roberto, and Galina would be spared. In exchange, Cian would take over the city and help keep it vampire free.

Cian still remembered awakening in a house filled with dead vampires. He had taken a risk remaining in the house with the cabal when the vampire hunters had come during the day to stake them and take their heads. Cian was confident that he could read people, and James Summerfield had been a man he felt he could trust. Crawling out of his coffin, he had found Summerfield sitting among the dead cabal.

“It's done,” Professor Summerfield had said in a weary voice. He had been splattered with vampire blood and still held a machete.

“And the girl?” Cian had asked.

“Alive. ”