me about everything happening in Seattle, and I always thought Anchorage would be safe from that.”
“I’m sorry.” It was the only thing I could think to say in the moment. “What can I do to help? Name it.” If she had asked me to reposition the sun, I would’ve died trying. That was how much this family meant to me.
“It’s a lot to ask.” Lian sounded sheepish. “And I’m kind of ashamed for even bringing it up, but…you’re the best slayer I know.”
“The only slayer you know,” I corrected, smiling.
“That’s not the point, smartass,” she shot back. “We’re like, leagues out of your jurisdiction, but I wanted to see if you could maybe come up north for a while and try to sort this out. Someone has to nip this in the bud before it spins out of control, and if anyone’s going to, it’ll probably be you.”
I was already typing Anchorage, Alaska into the GPS on my phone. It was not a good time to take a trip, academically speaking, but I couldn’t have cared less at the moment. For once in our lives, Lian needed me instead of the other way around. I was determined to be there and find out what was going on.
“This thing says it will take me forty-two hours to drive.” Two days in the car wouldn’t be much of a party, but again, those details were inconsequential. “Do we have that much time?”
“I mean, I hope so, but that’s a hell of a drive. Let me send you a plane ticket instead.”
“Come on, I can’t ask you to do that,” I protested.
“Oh, whatever. Mom and Dad are rich, and I’m the one asking the enormous favor of you. How soon can you leave?”
Fifteen minutes of grudging travel arrangements later, a one-way ticket to Anchorage showed up in my email inbox. A small buzz of mixed emotions surged through me to be going back to where I grew up, where I’d get to see my best friend again. I had gone back a few times since moving to Seattle after the vampire attack, and each time, my stomach churned with nerves and excitement.
I had fifteen hours to get my shit together before takeoff. That meant packing—and figuring out what to do about school while I was gone.
“Thank you, V. I appreciate this so much.”
“Don’t even worry about it, seriously. But I’ve gotta go if I’m going to make this work. We’ll talk when I get to Alaska.”
“Sounds good. I’m excited to see you!”
The feeling was mutual. I could count on one hand the number of times I had actually gotten to spend time with Lian since I’d moved back to Seattle with my grandma after my parents were killed and I miraculously survived the vampire attack. Before that, Lian and I were together all the time.
I pulled my laptop over and opened up the email client, copied all my professors onto a blank message. The words flowed from my fingers as automatically as if I had planned them out for days.
“Dear Professors. I regret to inform you that I need to take an immediate leave from all classes, due to an unforeseen personal emergency…”
Outside the bedroom window, the smallest sliver of moon continued its slow sail across the darkened sky. In a matter of hours, I’d be on the train to SeaTac Airport, headed into the unknown without so much as a backward glance.
A flare of unease spiked through me… Anchorage brought back many memories that for so long I tried to push to the back of my mind. But I couldn’t let that stop me from helping Lian.
Chapter 2
Seth
Parked on a stool at the Rabbit’s Foot bar, on the south side of Anchorage, I could see the blurry shapes of wet snowflakes hitting the window. I scowled. If there was one thing to complain about on the mortal plane of existence, the lousy weather occupied a place high up on my list.
But I had been promised rich rewards dependent on my ability to follow through on this mission, and I was never one to miss collecting on a debt once it was owed.
Nor did I turn down a chance to shed blood. The very thought made the edges of my mouth pull into half a smile.
The thing was, Orion, the local vampire clanmaster of Anchorage had found himself in trouble recently. The territory he’d been ruling over for decades was under threat by the vampire master from Seattle who sent over a tribe