But that hope was shattered now. It had been a stupid hope anyway. Being a Daybreaker was something that could change, a matter of confused attitude.
Being vermin was permanent.
"But that's-that's not-" Morgead seemed to be having trouble getting the words out. His eyes were large with horror and denial. "That's not possible. You're a vampire."
"Only half," Jez said. She felt as if she were killing something-and she was. She was murdering any hope for what was between them.
Might as well stomp it good, she thought bitterly. She couldn't understand the wetness that was threatening to spill out of her eyes.
"The other half is human," she said shortly, almost viciously. "My mother was human. Claire is my cousin, and she's human. I've been living with my uncle Jim, my mother s brother, and his family. They're all human."
Morgead shut his eyes. A moment of astonishing weakness for him, Jez thought coldly.
His voice was still a whisper. "Vampires and humans can't have kids. You can't be half and half."
"Oh, yeah, I can. My father broke the laws of the Night World. He fell in love with a human, and they got married, and here I am. And then, when I was three or so, some other vampires came and tried to kill us all." In her mind Jez was seeing it again, the woman with red hair who looked like a medieval princess, begging for her child's life. The tall man trying to protect her. "They knew I was half human.
They kept yelling 'Kill the freak.' So that's what I am, you see." She turned eyes she knew were feverishly bright on him. "A freak."
He was shaking his head, gulping as if he were about to be sick. It made Jez hate him, and feel sorry for him at the same time. She scarcely noticed that hot tears were spilling down her cheeks.
"I'm vermin, Morgead. One of them. Prey. That's what I realized a year ago, when I left the gang. Up until then I had no idea, but that last night we hunted, I remembered the truth. And I knew that I had to go away and try to make up for all the things I'd done to humans."
He put a hand up to press against his eyes.
"I didn't just become a Daybreaker. I became a vampire hunter. I track down vampires who like to kill, who enjoy making humans suffer, and I stake them. You know why? Because they deserve to die."
He was looking at her again, but as if he could hardly stand to. "Jez-"
"It's weird. I don't know about our connection"- she smiled bitterly at him, to let him know she knew all that was over now-"but I felt bad lying to you. I'm almost glad to finally tell you the truth. I kind of wanted to tell you a year ago when it happened, but I knew you'd kill me, and that made me a little hesitant."
She was laughing now. She realized she was more than a little hysterical. But it didn't seem to matter.
Nothing mattered while Morgead was looking at her with that sick disbelief in his eyes.
"So, anyway..." She stretched her muscles, still smiling at him, but ready to defend herself. "Are you going to try and kill me now? Or is the engagement just off?"
He simply looked at her. It was as if his entire spirit had gone out of him. He didn't speak, and all at once Jez couldn't think of anything to say, either. The silence stretched and stretched, like a yawning chasm between them.
They were so far away from each other.
You knew all along it would come to this, Jez's mind told her mockingly. How can you presume to be upset? He's actually taking it better than you expected. He hasn't tried to tear your throat out yet.
At last Morgead said, in a flat and empty voice, "That's why you wouldn't drink my blood."
"I haven't had a blood meal for a year," Jez said, feeling equally empty. "I don't need to, if I don't use my Powers."
He stared past her at the metal wall. "Well, maybe you'd better drink some of your human friends'," he said tiredly. "Because whoever has us-
He broke off, suddenly alert. Jez knew what it was. The van was slowing down, and the tires were crunching on gravel.
They were pulling into a driveway.
A long driveway, and a steep one. We're somewhere out in the country, Jez thought.
She didn't have time for any more banter with Morgead. Although she felt drained and numb, she was focused on outside issues now.
"Look," she said tensely as the van braked. "I know you hate me now, but whoever has us hates us both. I'm not asking you to help me. I just want to get my cousin away-and I'm asking you not to stop me from doing that. Later, you can fight me or whatever. We can take care of that between the two of us. Just don't stop me from saving Claire."
He just looked at her with dark and hollow eyes. He didn't agree or disagree. He didn't move when she positioned herself to erupt out of the van as soon as the back door was opened.
But, as it turned out, she could have saved her breath. Because when the door did open, letting in sunlight that blinded Jez, it was to reveal five vicious-looking thugs, completely blocking the entrance.
Three of them had spears with deadly points leveled right at Jez. The other two had guns.
"If anybody tries to fight," a voice from around the side of the van said, "shoot the unconscious ones in the kneecaps."
Jez sagged back. She didn't try to fight as they forced her out of the van.
Neither, strangely, did Morgead. There were more thugs standing around behind the van, enough to surround both Jez and Morgead with a forest of spears as they were led to the house.
It was a nice house, a small sturdy Queen Anne painted barn red. There were trees all around and no other buildings in sight.
We're out in the boondocks, Jez thought. Maybe Point Reyes Park. Somewhere remote, anyway, where nobody can hear us scream.
They were shepherded into the living room of the house, and Hugh and Claire were dumped unceremoniously on the floor.
And then they were all tied up.
Jez kept watching for an opportunity to attack. But one never came. All the time she and Morgead were being tied, two of the thugs pointed guns at Claire and Hugh. There was no way Jez could disarm them both before they got off a shot.
Worse, she was being rendered helpless by an expert. The cords were made of bast, the inner bark of trees. Equally effective against vampires and humans. When the guy tying her up was through, she had no use of her arms or legs.
Hugh woke up, gasping with pain, when they tied his injured arm. Claire woke up when the werewolf thug who'd finished winding cords around her slapped her.