She narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "I'm supposed to say yes, but I feel like you're setting me up."

"No, I'm not. I'm hoping you really do value us all. You're one of us now, right?"

"That's what I'm doing here, isn't it?"

"Of course," I agreed. "So you understand all that it means-that the Daemoni are now your enemy?"

Her eyes flickered, and she swallowed before nodding. "When they find out what I've done ... that I'm with you ... they'll kill me."

"But we'll protect you. We're always here for you. At least, that's the plan. But you're a vampire, which means you'll likely outlive most of us. The future of the Amadis is your future."

She chuckled but without humor. "I get where you're going-you need the fertility stone. I can't believe I let you lead me through all this BS."

"It's not BS," I said. "If we don't have the stone, we don't have a future."

"Well, let's hope someone figures something out, because I can't help you. I don't know where it is."

"Did you lose it?"

She groaned with exasperation. "I haven't seen it in months, okay? In fact, the last time I saw it was before I saw you and Se-Tristan in South Beach. End of story."

She hadn't exactly answered my question about losing it, and she'd learned, probably from Owen, to focus her mind on mundane subjects when she thought I might be poking around her mind. Right now she thought hard about the color of the tile in her room, whether she would call it toffee or coffee-with-cream or flesh. But her intense efforts to avoid thinking about the stone meant she hid something. So did she lose it? Or did she know exactly where it was but had some reason to keep it from us?

"Can I be alone now?" she asked. "I have some talking to do with G.o.d, right?"

With a shake of my head, I strode out of the room, my work done here for the day. Sheree followed me out.

"I think she's telling the truth," she said as we walked together toward my office. "About working on it on her own. She's made too much progress otherwise."

"Every time I a.s.sess her, her Amadis power is stronger, so there's no doubt." I opened my office door, and we both entered the elaborate room.

"I feel her strength, too," Sheree said as she stepped up to the front of my oversized, cherry-wood desk as I walked around it. "So ... uh ..."

She picked up a ceramic bowl Dorian had made for me when he was in kindergarten and studied it as though it might have come from another planet.

I sat in the leather executive chair, folded my hands on the desk and eyed her, feeling all boss-like. "You're stalling. Spill it."

"Well, I know you postponed the whole Sonya-Heather thing because of Vanessa and not knowing if she'd freak out on us and go on a rampage. But she's doing so well. You just said so yourself."

I already knew where this headed, so I nodded. "Vanessa's probably more harmless than Sonya. You think Heather should come for a visit?"

Sheree put the bowl down, then wrung her hands as she looked at me sheepishly. "I promised Sonya I'd ask you. Of course, she can't leave-I don't trust her out of the safe house yet-but I think it would be safe if Heather came here. With you and Tristan in the room, too, of course," she quickly added.

I leaned back in my chair. "You still think seeing Heather will help her make a breakthrough?"

"She's in a better mood every time they talk on the phone. The effect is temporary, but maybe seeing her, being with her ... maybe even getting to hug her ... with all that, we might see more lasting effects."

"Well, then, I guess we give it a try."

Sheree's face broke into a big grin. "She'll be so happy about this! This could be it for her, Alexis. She really does need this."

The way she practically bounced out of the room and down the hall toward Sonya's wing made me think of Tigger, and I giggled. But then the weight of it all pressed down on me. I crossed my arms on my desk and lay my forehead against them. What if we were wrong about Sonya? Or Vanessa? What if I was putting Heather's life at risk?

A longing to talk to Charlotte, Mom, or Rina suddenly overcame me. I wished they could be here to provide guidance. I'd managed to convert Vanessa and run this place, though barely occupied, without them, but I often felt so alone. Tristan helped where he could, but ultimately, the decisions were left up to me, and so many of them felt like life-or-death. So many lives in my hands. And this was only a tiny hint of what I'd have to face when I became matriarch. How does Rina do it?

I lifted my head enough to rest my chin on my arms, and my gaze swept over my office. When we first purchased the mansion for the Amadis, I'd thought I should decorate my office like Rina's, with a solid but elegant wood desk, lots of bookcases, and a fancy seating area, hoping the look would grow on me. But it hadn't yet, and I seriously considered redecorating in purple and black zebra stripes. At least something more me, because, although it looked like Rina's s.p.a.ce, the wisdom and sophistication it represented hadn't rubbed off. Not yet. I wondered if it ever would. Will I ever be the leader Rina is?

Without lifting my head, I reached out with one arm and slid my cell phone from the corner of the desk to the s.p.a.ce in front of me and stared at it for a long moment. The temptation to call my mom nearly overwhelmed me. It was almost midnight on the Amadis Island, not terribly late. Surely she wouldn't mind a call from her daughter at any time of day or night. But what would I say? That this was too much for me to handle on my own? That I needed my mommy? Of course, then she'd want to know everything going on, and since there's no point in lying to her, I'd have to tell her about Vanessa and converting her by myself, defying all of their specific requests, let alone betraying the people here who trusted me with their safety. No, I couldn't call my mom, not even to hear her voice. She'd know immediately something was wrong.

So I picked up the phone with a sigh, sat up straight and called Heather instead.

Chapter 18.

"Telepathy, huh?" Heather asked me as she sat on the couch in my office, and stared up at Tristan and me.

I'd never told her about my gift before because even our kind, who knew the ability existed, had issues with it. Vanessa served as a prime example. But Tristan had pointed out that we could use it to our advantage during this supervised visit.

"I'm not going to listen to your every thought," I said, "but if you feel frightened or simply uncomfortable, you can silently tell me."

She squinted her eyes as she considered my suggestion. "Because if she knows I'm afraid, it would upset her."

"She'll smell your fear as soon as you feel it," Tristan said, "and yes, she'll feed off of it. But if you don't panic, it'd be a lot easier to get you out of there. If you feel at all that you don't want to be there, silently tell Alexis."

"Okay," she said simply. "Now, can I see her?"

Tristan and I flanked her sides as we took her to Sonya's room, where Sheree waited outside the door. I'd wanted Owen there, as well, but we'd decided he'd better stay with Vanessa, just in case she caught a whiff of Heather's human scent and freaked out. Sheree stepped inside and closed the door for a minute or so, then opened it wide.

Sonya sat on her loveseat, dressed in street clothes and a smile. Heather lurched forward, as if to run to her sister, but caught herself.

"It's okay," Sonya said, her grin widening as she spread her arms open. "I promise not to bite you."

After a moment's hesitation, Heather ran into her older sister's arms. They laughed and cried and talked at the same time, overjoyed to be reunited. I couldn't help smiling myself, and a peek out of the corner of my eye caught Tristan grinning, too. With everything we'd been through with Sonya-the ups and downs, the mood swings, the worry that she'd never complete the conversion, and the more permanent concern that she may never be able to live in Norman society again-this made everything worth it.

They chatted on and on, sometimes pulling Sheree, Tristan, and me into their conversation, but mostly reminiscing about childhood memories. Sheree eventually made herself comfortable in the chair by the bed, and Tristan and I shared the chair by the loveseat, me in his lap. We talked and laughed, not realizing how much time had pa.s.sed.

"Alexis!" Owen's voice called into my mind.

Yeah?

"Sun goes down in an hour. Things could get bad fast."

It's going really- "Sonya's not the only vampire in the house!" If the words didn't alarm me, the warning in his tone did.

I jumped out of Tristan's lap. "Sorry, girls, but time's up."

Heather looked up at me with puppy-dog eyes. "Just another hour. Please?"

"Or two?" Sonya asked.

"Maybe I could stay for din-" Heather stopped herself as she realized what she was about to say-or possibly offer. Her hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes grew wide as Frisbees.

Sonya laughed. "I don't want you for dinner!"

"No, but we're taking no chances," I said. "Sunset isn't far off."

And that was so the wrong thing to say.

Heather understood the exact meaning of my words, and, with no warning, her fear spiked. Sonya's nose twitched and her face became stone at the scent. Her hand went to her throat, and her eyes changed, growing deadly serious. Tristan and I both moved, grabbing Heather by the arms and pulling her away from the vampire, but then Sonya exploded into laughter.

"Kidding!" she screeched.

We all froze and stared at her for several loud heartbeats, then Heather burst into a fit of giggles.

"You ... were always ... so good ... at getting me," the younger girl gasped, doubling over. "I'll never forget ..." And completely relaxed again, she delved into a story from when they'd gone camping with their grandparents.

"Alexis!" Owen called out again. "Seriously. If you don't get that Norman out of here now-" His voice went from mental to audible, but since our minds were connected, I still heard him. "Vanessa! Relax!"

Oh, c.r.a.p! Through Owen's eyes, I saw Vanessa blurring around her room in an angry maelstrom. The warlock knew powerful magic-he'd restrained Tristan for hours, after all-but again, I'd take no chances with Heather.

"Now!" I barked, grabbing Heather's upper arm once again and pulling her back toward the door. "Sorry, but no time for goodbyes."

The effect I'd had on Heather before was nothing compared to now. The sour smell of pure fear filled the room.

"Get her out of here," Tristan shouted even as I dragged Heather out of the room.

I glanced over my shoulder at them. Sonya, fangs out and eyes glowing red, pushed against Tristan and clawed at his shoulders as she tried to get to her sister. As if Heather wasn't already afraid. As loudly as her heart pounded now, every vampire and Were on the island would hear it. Tristan paralyzed Sonya, but a feral growl still rumbled from her chest, and her upper lip curled in a snarl. Sheree rushed to us and helped me get Heather out of the house and safely away from both vampires.

"I'm so sorry," Sheree murmured as we deposited a trembling Heather into the pa.s.senger seat of her own car.

"Don't," I said, shutting the car door and hurrying around to the driver's side. "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"But I-"

I held up my hand. "You suggested what you thought best, but I made the ultimate decision. Now get inside and see who needs you more. My bet is on Sonya."

I couldn't believe I'd said that, but it was true. Perhaps by willingly giving her soul up to become immortal, she'd sealed the deal for herself. Or perhaps we weren't trained well enough to do what we needed for her. With that thought, I couldn't help but blame Charlotte and mom and Rina, too, for this fiasco.

I jumped into the driver's seat, fished Heather's keys out of her purse and drove her back to my house. Blossom and Dorian were just setting the table for dinner when we walked in. By now, Heather's fear had dissipated, replaced by anger. She spun on me as soon as I closed the backdoor.

"What was that all about?" she demanded. "One minute we're having a good time, and the next, you're dragging me out of the room."

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to ignore the stares from Blossom and Dorian, who both stood on the other side of the kitchen island. "I had to get you out of there, though."

"Why? She was fine! You freaked out for nothing. You could have at least let us say goodbye."

"It wasn't for nothing, Heather." I wanted to tell her the truth about Vanessa being there, too, but I couldn't for everyone's safety, including hers. "You have to trust me. I did everything for your best interest."

"Whatever," she huffed before turning on her heel and heading for the family room.

"Don't walk away," I said to her back.

"You're not my mother. Don't tell me what to do."

I stared after her in shock. She'd never spoken to me-to any of us-like that before. She's a teenager. She's hurt. She misses her sister. I looked at Blossom, who looked back at me, and Dorian, who stared toward the door Heather had left through.

"Let's eat," Blossom said with a smile too big to be real. "I made lasagna."

The three of us had barely dished out the food and begun eating when Heather decided to join us. She ate quietly at first, probably embarra.s.sed by her outburst, but eventually joined in the conversation. By the time she left for home later in the evening, she was over it all. She didn't even ask me when she could see Sonya again. That made me sad for both of them.

Tristan arrived home much later, and I sat at the table again, watching him eat lasagna at ten o'clock at night.

"So if you got them both settled down, what took you so long?" I asked after we updated each other on everyone's status. As expected, Vanessa had calmed down quickly, and Sonya took a little longer. Like her sister, now she held contempt for us for cutting the visit short.

Tristan swallowed the bite he'd been chewing and took a swig of wine. "I had a couple of beers and a talk with Owen. We're taking a trip to South Beach."

"South Beach?" I asked, bewildered. "Wait. Oh, no, you're not. You're not going anywhere near there and the Daemoni!"

"It's not as bad as we'd thought, remember?"

"I don't care! It's bad enough. Do you want them to take control of you?"

"Of course not. But I'll have Scarecrow with me this time, and he can shield and cloak me. They'll have no idea I'm even there."

I gnawed on my lip as I considered this-a much better arrangement than what Tristan and I had when we went there. "I still don't like it. Why do you even need to go?"

"Vanessa had a place in South Beach when Owen met up with her again, before, well, before he brought her here."

Although Tristan had tried to avoid bringing up the gruesome memory, my stomach clenched at the reminder of Vanessa's arrival and what Owen had done to her. I just couldn't imagine my Owen-my sweet, protecting, normal Owen, anyway-slicing her into pieces.

"What do you mean when he met up with her again?"

Tristan shrugged. "I guess they've had an on-again-off-again thing going for a while. That memory you'd seen of Victor's-they were on then. But Owen left for a while and Vanessa went back to the Daemoni, tried the South Beach gig but her heart was elsewhere."

"You mean with Owen?" My nose wrinkled as my mind tried to visualize them together. The idea of them as a couple was still too absurd for me to accept. Obviously for Owen, too, since he still flirted with every female in sight.

"With Owen. Maybe with the Amadis, even. You were right-she'd been wanting this for a long time, but she had a hard time convincing Owen that she meant it. He didn't bring her here on a whim, Lex. You need to cut him some slack."

"I know," I admitted as I stared at my hands in my lap. "I worry about him, though. I'm glad you had a chance to talk to him. Does he hate me?"

"Of course not. But I think he's having a hard time figuring out how to handle you. A lot has changed with both of you since the trial last year."