"He wants me to report in person." Simon pocketed his phone, mind starting to race. Reuben would give him maybe an hour before sending someone to find him. After that, with his deadline expired, Charlie would become fair game for any hunter looking to pad their numbers.
"They'll reassign the target," Viktor said, following his thoughts. "Someone else will come for him."
"Multiple someones, probably." Simon knew how it worked. A failed hunt meant open season. Every ambitious hunter in the Organization would want to claim the kill Simon couldn't make. "They'll be mobilizing already."
Viktor set down his beer. "I know people. In the community."
Simon raised a skeptical eyebrow at his friend. "The vampire community you mentioned?"
"There's a safe house about two hours north. They take in strays sometimes." Viktor glanced at Charlie. "He'd be safer there. For some reason, the organization hasn't caught on to them."
Charlie stirred on the couch, one eye cracking open. His voice came out rough, confused. "Vampires?"
"You're awake." Simon moved closer without thinking about it.
Charlie struggled to sit up, the blanket sliding off his shoulders. The burns had faded to faint pink marks. "Did someone say vampires?"
"There's a community," Viktor explained. "Other vampires who could help you. Teach you how to survive properly."
Charlie's whole body went rigid. "No."
"Think about it," Viktor insisted. "It's your best option."
"Other vampires hate me." Charlie pulled his knees to his chest. "Like that one at Rosie's who called me a joke. And last week one tried to recruit me for his weird vampire cult and when I said no, he told me I was an embarrassment to the species."
Simon hadn't known about that last part, but he couldn't say that he was surprised to hear that Charlie struggled to make friends among vampires. "When did this happen?"
"Tuesday. Outside my apartment." Charlie's fingers twisted in the blanket. "He could smell hot sauce on me. Said I was disgusting. That I should just walk into the sun if I wasn't going to commit to being a real vampire."
The casual cruelty of it made Simon want to find that particular vampire and stake him.
"This community is different," Viktor said gently. "They're not like that."
"It doesn't matter," Charlie said. "I don't want to live with a bunch of vampires. I just want my life back." His shoulders hunched. He looked miserable.
But the sooner he accepted the truth, the better. "Your old life is gone." The words came out harsher than Simon intended. "Pretending you're not a vampire won't help you."
Charlie looked up at him, something raw in his expression. "Easy for you to say. You're still human."
Viktor snorted.
Simon glared at him.
Viktor raised his hands at him in a placating manner before turning to Charlie again. "Simon's got all the emotional finesse of a used up corkscrew, but he's right. You're a vampire now, and you need to learn how to get by as one."
Charlie looked doubtful. "I faint at the sight of blood."
"And yet you drank from Simon just fine." Viktor gave him a smile as if this was a good thing while Simon's wrist tingled with the memory of Charlie's teeth on it.
Charlie licked his lips as if he were experiencing a similar memory. "I got myself trapped on a rooftop."
"Your powers don't come intuitive to you. That's fine. You can still learn to control them. All fledglings need training."
"How do you know that?" Charlie cast a suspicious look at Viktor.
Before Viktor could answer however, Simon's phone buzzed again. A text from Reuben:Thirty minutes or I'm sending a team.
"I have to go." Simon turned toward the door. "Viktor, can you?—"
