Some Girls Bite

KEEPING WATCH IN THE NIGHT

"Time to get up, sleepyhead!"

I heard the voice, but grumbled into my pillow and pulled the comforter over my head. "Go away." "Aw, come on, Mer. Today's your big day! It's Vampire Rush!"

I tunneled into the blankets. "I don't want to be a vampire today."

I heard a huff, and the covers were ripped from my body and thrown to the floor.

"Damn it, Mallory!" I sat up and pushed a nest of dark hair from my face. "I'm twenty- seven years old and perfectly capable of getting up on my own. Will you get out of my room? Go bother Catcher."

"Catcher has bigger issues on his mind right now, Mer." She paused in the middle of flipping through the shirts that hung in my closet. "Did you hear about this other girl? The one who was killed."

I nodded as I rubbed sleep from my eyes. "They mentioned her last night."

"Helluva time to become a vampire."

"Tell me about it. I said the same thing the other day."

Mallory began to pull clothes off hangers and drop them into a pile on the floor. I gave her a dramatic glare she didn't bother to notice. "What are you doing?"

"I'm finding you something to wear. You've got Rush today." For all that Mallory proclaimed herself immune to the benefits of being as gorgeous and fit as she was, there were moments that she reveled in girly stuff. Her sorority sisters would have been proud.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed. "It's not Rush. It's hazing. Vampire hazing. I don't need to dress up so Ethan can humiliate me."

"True. He's humiliated you just fine when you were in jeans and a T-shirt." She glanced back, gave me a look over her shoulder snarky enough to reduce a pledge to tears. "But you're going to be there with, what did you say, eleven other new vamps? You need to show them what you're made of. Today's your day to start over. To reinvent yourself."

I shuddered as Mallory pulled out a pair of high black heels and a fitted white button-up blouse. They joined the trousers she'd tossed on the bed.

"That's not the kind of stuff I usually wear."

She snickered. "That's why you're wearing it tonight." She made a shooing motion with her hands. "Bathroom. Clean thyself."

Once I'd showered and dried off, Mallory took over. Nothing escaped her notice. I was perfum'd, pluck'd and powder'd within an inch of my life, my long hair brushed and sprayed until it gleamed, the long fringe of my dark bangs over my forehead. I was tucked into the trim flat-front trousers and the very snug white button-up shirt, which had cuffs at the ends of the three-quarter sleeves. The shirt was tucked in, and she twined a black belt around my waist, before unbuttoning the top couple of buttons on the shirt.

"You can see my boobs if you do that," I warned her.

"Such as they are," she snarked back. "And that's the point. You're playing the part of hot single vampire tonight."

I watched my reflection change in the mirror - from casually attractive graduate student to something a little more fierce. She chained three snug strands of thick silver beads around my right wrist, added a couple of layers of makeup - giving me, as she explained, "a dramatic, smoky eye and just-kissed lips," then slid me into the heels.

"All right," she said, wiggling her finger in a circular motion. "Turn around."

I performed like a trained circus poodle, spinning slowly in place so she could look me over.

"Nice," she complimented. "You clean up very, very nicely."

I shrugged and let her adjust the cuffs on the pant legs and collar of my shirt, then check my teeth for lipstick.

"All right. Final test. Let's go."

Because I was unused to walking in heels, she helped me downstairs, then made me stand at the foot of the stairs while she moved into the living room. "Gentleman, I present the newest member of Cadogan House, Chicago's smartest vampire - Merit!"

I was disappointed she hadn't named me "Chicago's sexiest vampire," but took what I could get and moved forward when she motioned me to do so. Jeff and Catcher sat on the couch, Jeff nearly propelling himself off it when I stepped into the living room.

"Woot, woot!" he yelled. "You look good enough to eat!"

I slid Mallory a glance. "He's your test? He thinks anything with breasts looks good."

"Since you don't qualify, that's why I asked him over."

I gave her a juvenile face and cupped my breasts protectively. There wasn't much to them, but they were mine, damn it. I dropped my hands when Jeff stood in front of me, grinning boyishly.

"You look ho-ot. Sure you don't wanna drop this vampire business and join the Pack? We've got better . . . insurance."

I grinned at him, positive that "insurance" hadn't been the first suggestion on his mind, but was actually prompted by the finger Catcher poked between his shoulder blades. But I thanked him and held out my arms to Catcher.

"Good luck," he offered, hugging and releasing me. "You decided yet what you're going to do about the oaths?"

"Not yet," I admitted, the question alone churning my nerves. As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door. Jeff, who was closest, pulled it open. A liveried driver tipped the cap on his head.

"Ms. Merit, please, bound for Cadogan House."

I blew out a slow breath, trying to calm the fear that was making a tangled mess of my stomach, and turned nervous eyes to Mallory. She smiled and held out her hands, and I moved into her fierce hug. "My little girl's growing up."

I couldn't help but laugh, which I'm sure was her intention. "You are so full of shit." When I let her go, Catcher moved in, putting a possessive hand at the small of her back.

"Be good tonight."

I nodded and grabbed the tiny black-and-white clutch Mallory had prepared for me. It held, she'd informed me earlier, a lipstick, my cell phone (turned off, so as not to irritate my housemates), my car keys, emergency cash.

And, ahem, a condom, Mallory apparently thinking it likely I'd be caught in a vampire- sex emergency. (Could vampires even catch STDs? Bet they didn't cover that in the Canon.)

Purse prepared, I gave everyone a final tremulous wave and followed the driver down to the sleek black limousine that sat at the curb. During the walk to the driver-opened door, although most of my brain cells were busy trying to keep me upright in three-inch stilettos, I did take a moment to remember the last time a limo had been parked in front of our house. It had been six days ago, when I'd arrived, newly changed and stuffed into a cocktail dress, still woozy from the attack and the change.

Six days later, shape-shifters peppered Chicago, my grandfather employed a secret vampire, my roommate was dating a magician, and I was learning how to wield a Samurai-era sword.

Life definitely marched on.

The limousine trekked steadily south, halting in front of a bedecked and bedazzled Cadogan House. Torches lit the sidewalk in front of the House and the walk that led to the front door, and candles blazed in each of the House's dozens of windows. One of the guards from the front gate opened the limousine door and gave me a knowing smile as I stepped onto the sidewalk. As I walked into the grounds, I realized that the dozens of torches that lined the sidewalk weren't your garden-variety tikis. These were elegant, sculpted from wrought iron. And more important, they were wielded by a gauntlet of vampires - men and women, all dressed in chicly cut black suits - who stood shoulder to shoulder along the sidewalk.

My stomach clenched with nerves, but I forced myself to walk on, to walk through them. I wasn't sure what I expected - scorn or ridicule, maybe? Some indication that they'd seen through me, and knew that I wasn't as powerful as some seemed to believe?

Their reaction was almost more frightening. Each pair, as I walked past, bowed their heads. "Sister," they quietly said, so the word fluttered behind me as I moved through them.

Goose bumps covered my arms, my lips parting as I absorbed the weight of what they were offering me - solidarity, kinship, family. I stepped up to the covered portico, glancing behind me, and inclined my head toward them, hoping that I was worth it.

Malik was at the open door, and he held out a hand in invitation. "He puts on a show," he quietly said as I walked inside. "You'll find the women upstairs in the ballroom's anteroom." He inclined his head toward the stairs. "All the way up and to the left."

I nodded again and gripped the railing when I reached the stairway, well aware that that stairs, three-inch heels, and adrenaline-rocked thighs were a dangerous combination. At the top of the stairway, I went to the left.

The sound of feminine giggling and banter echoed through the hall, and I walked toward it, stopping at an open door. There were a dozen women in a room that had been decked out to look like a pageant staging area - big mirrors, lots of light, lots of "product." Half the vamps wore traditional Cadogan black. These Novitiates helped the other five, who were dressed in a range of glamour wear (cocktail dresses, glimmery halter tops, satin-edged tuxedo pants), prepare for the ceremony. These makeupped and coiffed women were my fellow Initiates, and I suddenly felt old and fusty in my black-and-white ensemble.

As I watched them, I realized that they were all grinning. Their eyes were bright and eager, like they were preparing for the most exciting event of their lives. These were women, I thought, who'd been invited to join the House. Who'd chosen - consciously -  to forgo the human world for night and blood and the political intrigue of vampires.

I felt a tight pang of jealousy. What would that have been like, to walk into Cadogan House and ask for membership, or to view the Commendation as the celebration of a profound achievement? It really was Vampire Rush for these women, former humans who believed themselves fortunate to have made the cut.

"They're like lions preparing to jump the gazelle."

I smiled in spite of my nerves, turning to find a smiling blond vamp behind me. She wore the requisite black, her long, straight hair pulled into a tidy ponytail at her nape.

"And Ethan's the gazelle?"

"Oh, yeah." She inclined her head toward the hoard - now atwitter over some new shade of M.A.C. lipstick - and shook her head. "Not that they have a chance. He doesn't touch the new kids. But I don't think I'll tell them that." Her smile widened, and I decided not to think too closely about the fact that I was a new kid, and he'd certainly touched me.

"I think I'll let them stew," she decided. "It gives the older kids something to enjoy later on."

"The victory of defeat?"

"Exactly." She stuck out a hand. "Lindsey. And you're Merit."

I nodded cautiously and accepted her hand, wondering what other information she'd gleaned about me or, since it seemed to be popular vampire gossip, my paternity.

"Nothing to fear from me," she assured, without my having raised the issue.

When my eyes widened, she offered, "I'm empathic. You got really tense, and I had this sense that it was about something deep - familial maybe. But I could give a shit who your parents are. 'Sides, my dad was the pork king of Dubuque. So I know high living, chica."

I laughed aloud, drawing the attention of the women at the mirror, who all turned to look at me. And to appraise me. I got a series of up-and-down looks and a couple of carefully arched brows before they turned back to the mirror and set about perfecting their hair and makeup. I felt like an outsider - familiar enough with Ethan and the House to have lost that "new kid" glow, but definitely not yet one of the "older kids," whom I watched move around the newcomers with confident efficiency, offering assistance, spraying hair, calming nerves.

Lindsey suddenly clapped her hands together. "Ladies, we're ready. If you'll follow me, please?" She went for the door. My stomach in knots, I swallowed thickly and fell in line behind the other girls.

We walked back down the hallway, but this time passed the stairs. We moved, instead, toward a group of men who stood in a tense line outside a set of expansive double doors. There were six of them, all in trendy, well-cut suits, and they turned as we approached, smiling appreciatively. They were the rest of the new kids, the six male vampires who, in a matter of minutes, would become full-fledged members of Cadogan House.

We joined the line behind the guys, while the vampires who'd accompanied us formed a line beside us. I was the last vampire in line; Lindsey took the spot beside me.

We stood quietly for a little while, the twelve of us nervously adjusting clothing and smoothing hair, shuffling our feet as we waited for the doors to open, waited to swear our loyalty and allegiance to the man who'd hold the responsibility of ensuring our health, our well-being, our safety. I felt a momentary twang of sympathy for the responsibility he'd taken on, but I fought the feeling. I had enough to worry about.

With a soft whoosh, the doors were pulled open, revealing a ballroom that was swathed in light and thrumming with the beat of bass-heavy ambient music.

My stomach churned, and I put a hand on my abdomen to still the twitching.

"You'll be fine," Lindsey whispered. "I'll escort you in. And since you're last, you just have to do what the others do. Follow their lead."

I nodded, keeping my eyes on the short, dark hair of the woman in front of me. The line began to move, and we slowly proceeded into the space, in step with the vampires beside us.

Gigantic framed mirrors hung from both sides of the ballroom, swaths of billowy white fabric draped above them. The floor was gleaming oak, the walls a pale shade of gold. Chandeliers holding hundreds of candles gleamed, reflecting a golden glow throughout the space.

The vampires, all in black, were an odd foil against the decor. They stood in two large, tidy columns like a squadron at attention, a narrow aisle between them. We walked between the columns, Lindsey and I bringing up the rear.

At the front of the room, on a raised platform, stood Ethan, flanked by Malik and Amber, Luc standing behind. Ethan looked piratical. He was dressed in black, this time a snug long-sleeved T-shirt that showed off every plane and curve of his torso, and black flat- front slacks. His feet were tucked into squarish black shoes, his shoulder-length blond hair tucked neatly behind his ears. His legs were spread, like he was bracing his body against the sway of the ocean, arms folded across his chest as he watched us move closer, every bit the captain surveying his crew. He also looked as confident as I'd ever seen him - his shoulders square, his jaw set, his emerald eyes glowing with lambent power.

His gaze followed the line of vamps, skipping over each one, and I watched his brow furrowing before he found me at the back of the line. Our gazes locked again, the act no less powerful than it had been when we'd met for the first time a week ago. And then, with a motion so slight I'd wonder later if I'd imagined it, he inclined his head.

I nodded back.

My gaze still on Ethan, I nearly stumbled into the woman in front of me when we stopped moving, the first of our line even with the columns of vamps beside us.

The music stopped and the room stilled. Ethan unfolded his arms and took a step forward.

"Brothers. Sisters. Vampires of Cadogan House."

The room burst into raucous applause, the vampires around us whistling and screaming until Ethan quieted them with a slight motion of his hand.

"Tonight we initiate twelve new Cadogan vampires. Twelve vampires who will become your brothers, your sisters, your room-mates, your friends." He paused. "Your allies." There was nodding in the crowd.

"Tonight, twelve vampires will swear their allegiance to Cadogan House, to me, and to you. They will join us, work for us, laugh with us, love with us, and, if necessary, fight with us."

Ethan paused, then took a step forward. "My friends, my vassals, do you consent?"

They answered with action. To a one, the vampires at our sides swiveled to face us. Then, nearly simultaneously, their expressions solemn, they sank to the floor, kneeling before us. But for the group at the podium, we were the only men and women still on our feet, the rest genuflecting around us. They offered us fellowship; they offered Ethan consent, faith.

I got goose bumps all over again.

It was humbling, astounding, jolting to watch the display, to see a hundred vampires prostrate before me, to know that I was part of this, one of them. The nervousness disappeared, supplanted by a weighty kind of knowledge, a bone-deep understanding that I had become something different, something historic.

Something more.

I let my gaze flow across the crowd of vampires, still on their knees before us, and became aware of something else - the slow hum of power, like a subtle electric current, that moved across them, like water over a tumble of rocks.

Magic.

I let my hand lift, let my fingers feel the subtle shape of it, the curves and bows in the air. It wasn't unlike putting a hand out a car window and feeling the wind rush by; it had that same weird sense of solidity. And, like Catcher said, it wasn't that they were doing magic, performing it. It was more like they were extruding it, leaking it into the air around us. Whatever Ethan had said, being a vampire wasn't just about genetics.

Realizing that I was standing in the midst of nearly a hundred vampires, my hand floating in the air like an idiot, I snatched it back, rubbing the inside of my palm with a thumb to wipe away the residual tingles. I surveyed the vamps around me, realizing that no one else seemed to have noticed the magic. The Initiates stared a little blankly at the Housed vampires, mouths parted in surprise, their eyes flicking nervously across the men and women at our feet.

I risked a glance and looked up at Ethan, still on the platform. His gaze was on me, his expression unreadable, but his attention fixed. I wondered if he'd seen me raise my hand, feel out the current, and I wondered if I'd done something wrong by touching it.

After a moment, he turned back to his troops. "Rise, friends, as we welcome your comrades, as they swear their oaths to protect this House."

The vampires rose in concert, as if they'd choreographed and practiced the moves. They moved with such synchronicity that it was akin to watching a flock of birds in flight - and a little disconcerting in a group of men and women.

They swiveled again to face Ethan, and the tension in the room seemed to heighten incrementally, the new vamps in front of me shifting nervously. Something was about to happen.

Lindsey leaned toward me. "When he calls your name - when he calls you forward - go to him. It might scare you, but it's perfectly natural. He calls all of us."

Without warning, the Initiate vampire at the front of the line - a young man of maybe twenty-five - stumbled forward. The vampire at his side took his elbow to catch him, then escorted him the dozen-odd steps to the podium, where he kneeled before Ethan. The escort then stepped to the side. The room was silent, all eyes on the Master and Initiate before him. Ethan leaned down, said something to the boy, who nodded, then responded.

The exchange continued for a few moments, before Malik stepped forward and handed something to Ethan. It glinted in the light - a medal on a thin gold chain - and the vampire lowered his head. Ethan reached his hands around the man's neck and fastened the medal. When it was clasped, he whispered again, and the man rose.

"Joseph, Cadogan Initiate, I anoint you a full member of Cadogan House, with all the rights and duties afforded a Novitiate vampire."

The crowd applauded raucously as Joseph and Ethan embraced. Amber then stepped from the podium and led Joseph to one side, where he stood facing us, like a beauty pageant finalist.

The same sequence followed with the other ten vampires before me - kneeling, speaking, embracing, applause. Warner, Adrian, Michael, Thomas, and Connor followed Joseph into the ranks of Cadogan Novitiates, as did five women - Penny, Jennifer, Dakota, Melanie and Christine. Before I knew it, I stood at the front of the line, Lindsey at my side, Ethan before me, the host of Novitiates, new and old, watching as I waited to be called. Adrenaline began to surge.

The ballroom fell silent again. I forced myself to raise my gaze, to meet Ethan's. There was a moment of eye contact before he dropped his head.

That was when I heard it - the soft echo of his voice in my head, like a whisper from the end of a tunnel. And then I was hurtling through the tunnel, toward the sound, and I squeezed closed my eyes and tried to staunch the sudden burst of nausea. His voice called clear, my name. My full name - first, middle, last. And from his lips, it didn't sound so bad.

But I wasn't that girl anymore. Hadn't been, maybe ever, certainly not since I was old enough to claim my own identity. To be Merit, rather than the ghost of someone else.

Eyes closed, contemplating my identity, I hadn't heard him approach. I didn't know he stood before me until I felt his fingers in a viselike grip around my arms.

My lids lifted. Ethan stared down at me, nostrils flaring, silver tempering the edges of his irises. I swallowed and looked around, realized that the ballroom was graveyard silent, and that all eyes were on me. I looked to Lindsey, whose expression bore some mix of horror, shock, and awe, and I had no idea what I'd done.

I blinked and returned my gaze to Ethan. A muscle twitched in his jaw, and he leaned incrementally forward.

"What the hell kind of game are you playing?"

I opened my mouth, but was too flustered to form words. Desperate to make him understand that I hadn't, this time, purposefully failed him, I shook my head wildly.

"I didn't," I managed to push out, willing him to understand.

Ethan blinked, his fingers loosening slightly, and his eyes tracked across my face, searched my gaze. "You didn't come forward when I called you."

"You didn't call me."

"You heard me say your name?"

I nodded.

"I pulled you forward, just as I pulled everyone else. You didn't come." Then his lips parted, his eyes suddenly widening, his expression suddenly appreciative. "You weren't fighting me?"

I shook my head. "Of course not. Not now. Not like this. I may not always be . . . pliant, but I have a pretty strong instinct for survival. I'm not going to insult you in front of your people." I offered him a little smile. "Well, not again, anyway."

"Ethan?" Malik stepped forward. "Should we release the others?"

Ethan shook his head. He uncrimped his fingers and released my arms, then turned on his heel. "Follow me."

I didn't hesitate, but fell into step behind him, let him take the couple of steps to the platform, and stopped in front of him. I didn't kneel, unsure of what he wanted me to do.

Malik took the spot next to Ethan, and when his people were assembled again, he looked to the crowd.

"Friends."

The single word silenced the vampires, silenced the speculation that I knew had begun to work its way through the House: Why didn't she move forward? Was it some kind of rebellion? (Again?) Was he going to punish her this time? (Rightfully?)

"In these times, peace is tremulous. Allies are key. Power is key." His gaze slipped down to me. "I called her. It had no effect."

The murmuring began in earnest.

"She has resisted the call," Ethan continued, raising his voice over the vampires. "She has resisted the glamour. She has strength, my friends, and will be an asset to our House. For she is ours. She is a Cadogan vampire."

For the third time, the goose bumps rose.

He looked back at me and nodded slightly, and I sank to my knees before him. Then he took a step forward and gazed down at me. His eyes fairly glowed, bright green glass beneath the fringe of long, blond lashes.

This was it. The time to pledge myself, or not, in service to these vampires.

To Cadogan.

To Ethan.

"Merit, Initiate of Cadogan House, in the presence of your brothers and sisters, do you pledge fealty and allegiance to Cadogan House, to its honor, to its Lord? Do you pledge to be true and faithful to Cadogan House and to its members to the exclusion of all others, without deception? Do you pledge to uphold the liberty of your brothers and sisters?"

I kept my eyes on his and with a single word, accepted an eternity of obligation. "Yes."

"Merit, Initiate of Cadogan House, do you pledge to serve the House and its Lord without hesitation, and to never, by word or deed, seek to harm the House, its members, or its Lord? Will you help to hold and defend her against any creature, living or dead, and make this promise, gladly and without dread, and keep it for as long as you shall live?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but he stopped me with an arched brow. "Immortality makes for long life, Merit, and for an eternal promise. Think carefully before you answer."

"I will," I answered without hesitation, having already made the decision that I was, for better or worse, a Cadogan vampire.

Ethan nodded. "So be it. Daughter of Joshua, beloved of Charles" - I smiled at the mention of my grandfather's name - "you offer your faith and fidelity, and we accept you into our grace and favor."

He took the last medal from Malik, leaned closer, and clasped it around my neck. His hand, I thought, lingered for a moment before he stepped back, but before I had a chance to wonder at what that meant, his voice boomed through the ballroom.

"Merit, Cadogan Initiate, I anoint you . . . Sentinel of this House."

The crowd gasped. Ethan looked down at me, waited for my reaction.

My fingers instinctively touching the flat of the pendant, I gave him a reaction immediately - lifting wide eyes to his and staring, mouth open, at the revelation. I was shocked, partly that I actually knew what a "Sentinel" was, and partly that he'd made me one.

Like I'd explained to Mallory, the position of Sentinel, like much of the House, was feudal in origin, and wasn't used much in modern Houses. Where the House's Guard Captain, in this case Luc, stood as head of the House's small army of guards, the Sentinel was responsible for guarding the House as an entity. As Sentinel, I'd be responsible for the structure itself, and most important, for the House as a symbol.

As Mallory put it, I'd be defending the brand. And I'd be honor-bound to serve the House, any lingering distrust for Ethan completely beside the point.

In effect, he was ensuring my loyalty to Cadogan in the shrewdest way possible - by giving me the duty of defending it.

It was brilliant. A strategy worthy of applause. An Ethan-worthy strategy, for all that he prided himself on political maneuvering.

Still on my knees, I stared up at him. "Well played."

He smiled beneath hooded eyes, offered me a hand. I took it and pulled myself up.

"Yet again," he said, his eyes alight, "we see your potential to wreak havoc."

"It wasn't my intent to wreak havoc. I can't help it if I'm . . . abnormal."

Ethan smiled. "Not abnormal," he said. "Unique. And I believe we'll adjust to this development."

He was being unusually ungrumpy, and I wondered if by taking the oaths I'd crossed some important threshold for holding Ethan's trust. Maybe now that I was officially a Cadogan vamp - subject to the Master's rules and the Canon's detailed scheme of discipline and sanctions - he could afford to trust me.

But Ethan kept his eyes on me, his gaze darting back and forth across my face. He still seemed to be searching for something, waiting for something, so I knew, even if we'd made progress, that we weren't quite done.

"What?"

"I want your allegiance."

I frowned, not understanding. "You have it. I just swore an oath. Two of them. Two oaths to protect you and yours against all things living and dead. I don't even know how that second part works, and I signed up for it anyway."

He shook his head. "The Houses will hear about your strength - they'll learn about your speed and agility. They'll learn you can withstand glamour." He lifted brows, and I realized he was asking for confirmation. I nodded.

"Others, when they learn of your origins, will test your loyalty, question whether you're . . . biddable. There will be doubts as to your willingness to accede to my authority." His gaze intensified, his irises now a deeper green - like cold, dark seawater. "I want the other Houses to know that you're mine."

I heard the strained note of possessiveness in his voice, but knew it wasn't personal - it had nothing to do with me, but reflected his concern that another House might lure me away. And Ethan wasn't interested in sharing his new toy. Whatever his physical attraction to me, I was a weapon, an instrument, a secret tool to be garnered in defense of his House. In defense of his vampires.

But he'd given me a weapon of my own. While I was a Cadogan vamp, subject to his dictates - and while I had no immediate plans to buck his authority - I was Sentinel for Cadogan House, not Ethan Sullivan. My plans for protecting the House would supersede his individual plans for me. Ironically, while he thought to reel me in further, he'd actually given me the keys to my independence.

"While it might be fun for you to show me off," I told him, "it's better for Cadogan if my strengths aren't paraded in front of the other Houses. It's better to keep them in the dark and for you to let me do my job. I'll attract less suspicion if they don't know how strong I am, especially if they don't know I have some immunity to glamour. The surprise will work to our advantage." My tone didn't allow for disagreement, just offered a strategy that I knew he'd see was right.

As I waited for an answer, as he considered what I'd said, I offered, "Unless you only wanted me to be a figurehead - and not actually employ my skills to secure the House."

Ethan shook his head, frowning as he did it. "No. You'll stand Sentinel. But they'll still question your loyalty. Word of our, let's call them, conflicts has spread."

"Then my word that all is well in Cadogan House, that I'm, let's say, committed to your service won't have much effect. They'll respect deeds, Ethan, not words."

I saw the glint of appreciation in his eyes. "Fair enough." His gaze slid to the crowd behind me, and I realized they'd been watching the entire dialogue. Our positions weren't exactly inconspicuous, standing as we were in the front of the room, scores of still-attentive vampires watching.

"Let's continue this discussion tomorrow, Sentinel."

Noting that I'd now lost my first name as well to my new title, I nodded my acquiescence. At the motion of his hand, I took my place as the twelfth addition to Cadogan House, standing directly in front of Amber. I could feel her glaring behind me, but kept my gaze open and blank and on the vampires in front of us. Their suspicious stares weren't any better, but at least they regarded me with a little less overt, Ethan- induced jealousy.

Ethan turned to the crowd. "Friends, having heard the oaths of our twelve new members, we face the dawn as a House made larger, made stronger, made more secure against its enemies. I bid you welcome your new brothers and sisters with open arms."

A male vamp in the crowd called out, "Open arms are great! Just don't forget to lock your bedroom doors!"

Ethan chuckled along with the crowd. "And on that irreverent note, I call this Commendation closed and bid you good night. Dismissed."

The crowd offered a simultaneous "Thank you, Liege," and the lines of vampires began to relax and cluster into smaller groups. The women to my left squealed happily, and began embracing one another, probably thrilled they'd finally been admitted to the House. I didn't feel comfortable joining in the celebration - for better or worse, I wasn't one of them - and instead glanced back at Ethan. He was back in the pirate-inspecting- his-crew pose, and I wondered if he felt that same sense of separateness - being both a member of Cadogan but, by virtue of being its Master, not really one of them.

I moved back to him, confident that I'd taken his measure, but needing to reassure myself about something.

"Ethan?"

Eyes on the crowd, he responded, "Hmm?"

"What do you think about the Bears?"

He slid me a glance, one blond brow arched. "That they're large hibernating predators?"

I opened my mouth to clarify, but realized the answer said enough. "Never mind," I said, and melted into the crowd.

Just outside the ballroom, the new vamps clustered together, grinning and laughing about the ceremony, patting one another on the back and sharing victorious hugs. I watched the celebration, not quite sure my joining them would be appreciated.

Something nudged my back. I turned to find Lindsey, who held out a stack of binders and thick manila folders, the topmost of which had a lumpy bulge. I took the materials, which must have weighed ten pounds, and lifted questioning eyes.

"Paperwork," she explained. "Insurance forms, House rules, all that good stuff. We've got a Cadogan Web site. Luc's security protocols are in the secure section. Log in and look through them as soon as you have a chance. You'll need to be familiar with them in a week or two. Your beeper's in there, too. Keep it with you always - no exceptions. If you're in the shower, take it into the bathroom. Luc considers all security personnel on- call twenty-four-seven. That even includes a high-and-mighty Sentinel."

In between smirks, I managed to ask, "Does that include you?"

She nodded. "I'm a guard." She nudged me with her hip. "So we'll be seeing a lot more of each other now that you're standing Sentinel. Historic move, that. Answer a question?"

I instinctively looked around, checked that we were far enough away from the other vamps that I wouldn't be giving away any state secrets by answering something honestly. The new Novitiates seemed to be arranging their celebration party, so I figured I was safe.

"Ask away."

Lindsey cocked her head at me. "Are you sleeping with Ethan?"

Why did people keep asking me that? "No. No. Definitely not. No."

Probably the first no had answered the question, but I couldn't seem to stop throwing them out. Was I protesting too much?

"Oh, 'cause it's just. . . ."

"It's just what?"

She patted my shoulder. "Don't get your hackles up. I don't want to end up pinned to the training room floor."

I arched a brow at that, but she grinned back. I was beginning to like this girl.

"You two just seemed to have a connection." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me, either way. He's hot as a son of a bitch." Lindsey cast an interested glance back toward the open ballroom doors, just in time to see Ethan saunter out, deep in conversation with Malik. "Tall, blond, body of a god."

"Ego of a god," I put in, and watched them walk right past the newbies and toward the stairs. Ethan was apparently done playing the interested Master, and was back to playing chill and aloof. "He is pretty, though."

Lindsey giggled, a laugh that came out kind of adorably snorty. "I knew you had a thing for him. Your eyes melt when he's nearby."

I rolled my eyes. "My eyes do not melt."

"They silver."

After a pause, I allowed, "Not every time."

Lindsey snickered, and this time the sound was a little evil. "You're whipped, toots."

"I'm not whipped. Can we talk about something else, please?" Lindsey opened her mouth, and I added, "Something else that doesn't have to do with me and boys of the vampire persuasion?" When she snapped it shut it again, I was glad I'd taken the offensive.

A hand at my elbow stopped us before we could switch to a more pleasant topic. "Come out with us."

I looked over, found one of the new vamps beside me, and had to pause to remember his name. Tallish, youngish, curly, cropped brown hair, cute in a vague, East Coast blue-blood kind of way. Connor - that was it.

"What?" I asked.

"We're going out to celebrate." He inclined his head toward the knot of Novitiates heading collectively down the stairs. "You have to come out with us."

I opened my mouth to give a wavering answer, an "I don't know" that would have captured the fact that I knew I wasn't really one of them. But he stopped me with a hand.

"I'm not going to take no for an answer. It's our first official night as Cadogan vamps. We're going to Temple Bar to celebrate. There's twelve of us, and it would be wrong for only eleven to show up." He gave Lindsey an endearing smile. "Don't you think?"

"I definitely do," she agreed, and slipped her hand in the crook of my elbow. "We'll meet you at the bar."

Connor looked back at me, grinned boyishly. "Wicked. We'll see you then. And I'll have a drink ready." He stepped back, fisted hands on his hips, and looked me over. "Gin and tonic?"

I nodded.

"I knew it. You looked like a G and T girl. We'll be waiting for you," he said, then clucked me beneath the chin. Flipping his suit jacket over his shoulder, he bobbed down the stairs and out of sight.

Lindsey sighed audibly. "He's cute."

"He's a child." I hadn't meant chronologically - he was probably twenty-five, twenty-six. But he carried that sense of wealth-bred optimism shared by lots of the kids I'd grown up with. I was a little too cynical for that. Give me the jaded, slightly disillusioned boy instead.

"A little too pampered," Lindsey agreed, getting to the heart of it. "But that doesn't mean he can't pay for our drinks." She took a step forward and tugged at my arm. "Come on.

Let's go spend a few hours pretending that being a vampire means partying and couture and being twenty-five forever."

We trotted down the stairs, and walked by the parlor, where Malik and Ethan were still deep in discussion. Ethan's brow was drawn, hands on his hips as he stared at Malik, who looked to be explaining something. Lindsey and I paused in the doorway, watched Ethan shake his head, then deliver instructions to Malik, who nodded obligingly and tapped on a PDA.

"Come on, ladies! The alcohol awaits!"

Ethan's gaze flicked from Connor, to Lindsey, to me, and his expression blanked. Tomorrow. My office. We'd only just concluded the ceremony, and he was already making use of the mental connection he'd opened between us

"Come on, Merit," Lindsey said, tugging me away. I nodded back at him, and let her lead me away.

Temple Bar was housed in a narrow building squeezed into a corner in Wrigleyville. It was owned by Cadogan House and stocked with Cubs gear; it made a killing, no pun intended, during baseball season.

It was just after midnight when we arrived, and the bar was packed. A mix of vampires and humans (apparently oblivious to the predators surrounding them), filled the narrow space, the right side of which was lined by a memorabilia-laden bar, the left by a series of booths and tables. A small loft was perched in the back, which gave a handful of customers a bird's-eye view of the room and its supernatural patrons.

We saw Connor and the rest of the Novitiates around a long, narrow bar table at the edge of the seating area, drinks in their hands.

"Merit!" Connor yelled out when we made eye contact, pushing through the crowd to get to us. "I was afraid you were going to stand us up."

I started to clarify that it had only been minutes since we'd seen each other, but got an elbow in the ribs from Lindsey. I gave her a dirty look before smiling back at Connor.

"We made it!" I lightly said, and accepted the gin and tonic he handed me. He followed suit with Lindsey, and she immediately pulled the lime off the rim of her glass before taking a big sip of the drink. I bit back a smile, guessing she needed the liquid patience to get through an evening with baby vamps.

Randomly, I also wondered, given Catcher's theories about my physical and psychic strength, if I could form the same kind of bond with her that Ethan had formed with me. I stared at her, tried to reach out, to push through a mental tunnel between us, but all I got for my trouble was the beginning of a sinus headache and a weird look from Lindsey.

"What are you staring at?" she asked.

"How does Ethan do that mental connection thing?" I asked back, as we followed Connor through the throng to the other new Novitiates, holding our drinks aloft to avoid dumping them onto the people around us.

"I don't know the mechanics of it," Lindsey said, "if that's what you're asking. It's what Masters do. It's a connection to the vampires they turn."

We cut a path through prettily dressed men and women, finally emerging at the end of the bar table. The vamps who gathered there - women perched cattily on high stools, men standing between and around them - immediately stopped talking.

"Folks," Connor announced into the relative silence, "I bring you the Sentinel of Cadogan House." He lifted his glass toward me. "Merit, your brethren."

They stared at me, looked me over, evaluated, and questioned. Waiting for judgment, I raised my own glass and offered a tentative smile. "Hi."

A woman with a gleaming bob of sable hair slid a glance to the blond woman beside her, then smiled at me. "Lovely to meet you, Merit. You've made quite an impression."

Her diction was perfect, her words precise, her snug black suit cut into a low runway- worthy V. She looked vaguely familiar, and it took a moment before I realized that I'd seen her before - that I actually knew her. This was Christine Dupree, daughter of Dash Dupree, one of Chicago's most famous, most notorious criminal defense attorneys. Our fathers were friends, and Christine and I had been introduced years ago at a reception for a private school my father wanted me to attend. I'd begged him to keep me in public school, and he'd ultimately given in - both to my begging and to what he'd believed had been a two-day hunger strike. (I hadn't mentioned the stash of Oreos my grandfather had helped me sneak into my bedroom.)

"We've met before, Christine. You know my father."

She frowned, her delicately arched brows knitting together, but then a smile blossomed. "Oh, my God. You're that Merit! Joshua's daughter. Of course!" She turned to the girls around her, who watched us with avid curiosity, and explained our connection.

"God, sit down!" Christine said, waving Novitiate Warner toward an empty chair at a table behind us. "Get the girl a chair, Warner."

On command, Warner pulled over a seat and offered it with a flourish. "My lady."

To sit or not to sit? I glanced back at Lindsey, who was chatting animatedly with Connor, her eyes fluttering as she laughed at something he'd said. I decided she was fine, so I took the seat and set about getting acquainted.

I chatted with Cadogan's newest vampires for hours. They explained why they'd opted to become vampires, and the reasons were surprisingly varied - illness, nobility, immortality, family connections (Michael had a great-great-great-grandfather killed in a duel between warring houses who'd become a Cadogan vampire), and career opportunities. I told my own story, leaving out the sordid details of my transformation to vampire, and felt the wall between us begin to dissolve. They were especially thrilled by my challenging Ethan, the guys making me repeat the story until they'd milked it of every detail. Ethan, they informed me, was a notoriously good fighter, with an almost unbroken record of wins against other vamps. They were amused that I'd challenged him, impressed that I'd held my own.

Honestly, I was surprised by their reaction. Not that they were interested in my story, but that they listened regardless of the mess I'd inadvertently made of their Commendation. I'd expected anger or snobbery, not acceptance.

We swapped stories until the wee hours of the morning, until the guests slowly filtered from the bar, until Sean and Colin - the resident bartenders, also Cadogan vamps -  cheerily evicted us. We walked out to our vehicles, and I gave Lindsey a ride back to Cadogan House. She spent the trip debating the merits of dating a baby vamp. At the end of the night, with minutes to spare before the dawn, I stepped out of the car, and laughed aloud at the giant banner that hung across Mal's and my front door.

It was a sheet of black plastic with "GUESS WHO'S OVER THE HILL!" printed in giant white letters across it. A skull and crossbones decorated one end, and the other bore cartoonish drawings of gravestones.

I snickered, guessing the culprit. The expressions of the front door guards were as blank as I'd ever seen them. I guess they weren't impressed by the joke. I stepped past them, unlocked the door, entered the house and locked up again. Inside the quiet living room, on the table next to the front door, was a note with my name on it.

Merit,

Congratulations on your Vampire Rush. Hope you had a great time and told Darth Sullivan to kiss off. Also hope you like the banner. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I liked the gravestones. Hard to find a perfecter gift for the newly undead. XOXO.

M

In a scratchy scrawl beneath Mallory's handwriting lay another message:

The banner was her idea.

CB

Smiling, I tucked the note into my pocket, fingered the pendant at my neck, and just as the sun began to push above the horizon, headed upstairs to bed.