Reuben's voice. He sounded calm, almost kind. The same way he had when he'd guided Simon through his transformation from terrified, half-turned teenager to the Organization's perfect hunter.
Simon opened his eyes.
He was strapped to a chair, exactly the way he was in his nightmares.
As if he was fifteen again.
Except that he wasn't, and he wasn't going to stand for this treatment.
Swallowing dryly, he looked at Reuben, who stood beside the chair, still in his pressed suit, as if they were just having a casual conversation about Simon's latest hunt.
"Back with us?" Reuben smiled. "The tranquilizers hit you rather hard."
"Where is Charlie?"
"Escaped, unfortunately. For now." Reuben adjusted something on an IV stand next to the chair. "He'll be found soon enough."
Simon tested the restraints. No give.
"You're angry with me." Reuben sounded almost disappointed. "I understand. Being captured by your own people feels like betrayal."
"It's not the capture I'm angry about."
"Ah." Reuben nodded. "Someone got in your head and fed you lies about the organization."
Simon glared. That explanation was way too cheap to convince him. "It's not all lies. I met my mother's killer at the retreat."
Reuben seemed to consider. "We made a deal with that one years ago. He's been a valuable asset in helping us identify potential candidates."
"So you admit it." Simon pulled at his restraints again.
"I admit we use every tool at our disposal to fight a war most humans don't even know exists." Reuben met his gaze. "The vampire world is vast and dangerous, Simon. We need every advantage we can get."
"Including traumatizing children?" The rage Simon had suppressed since waking bubbled closer to the surface. "Making them watch their mothers die?"
"Including creating the strongest, most effective hunters possible." Reuben's voice hardened. "And yes, that sometimes requires sacrifice."
Simon's hands curled into fists. "She was all I had."
"And her death made you the man you are today." Reuben reached for a tray covered with a sterile cloth. "Without that loss, would you have had the drive to become our best? The dedication to eliminate over a hundred threats to humanity?"
"They weren't all threats." Simon thought of Charlie, turned into a literal rabbit by fear. "Some of them were just trying to survive."
Reuben unveiled the tray. A syringe lay on the sterile surface, filled with dark red liquid.
"Ah yes. Your little fledgling." Reuben picked up the syringe, examining it against the light. "He's made quite an impression on you, hasn't he? Enough to make you question everything you know."
"He showed me the truth."
"He showed you what you wanted to see." Reuben tapped the syringe. "A vampire that doesn't need to kill. That can be tamed, domesticated. But it's a fantasy, Simon. One you indulged because of the blood bond between you."
Simon stared at the syringe. "What is that?"
"You already know." Reuben's smile didn't reach his eyes. "It's the same thing I've been giving you for years, just in a more concentrated form."
"It's blood."
"Myblood." Reuben approached the chair. "Every pill you've swallowed has contained a little bit of it, just enough to keep you tethered to me. For half-turned vampires like you who've never had any other blood… usually, that's all it takes. But since you've strayed from the path, I believe a concentrated dose is required."
