Part 1 (1/2)

All just Gla.s.s.

by Amelia At.w.a.ter-Rhodes.

CHAPTER 1

SAt.u.r.dAY, 5:52 A.M.

THE RINGING IN her ears surely was the sound of the world shattering. It was louder than the November air whistling outside as it tore leaves the color of fire and blood from the trees, and louder than the hum of the Chevy's engine as Adianna Vida pressed the gas pedal down further, accelerating past sixty...seventy... her ears surely was the sound of the world shattering. It was louder than the November air whistling outside as it tore leaves the color of fire and blood from the trees, and louder than the hum of the Chevy's engine as Adianna Vida pressed the gas pedal down further, accelerating past sixty...seventy...

Pus.h.i.+ng eighty miles per hour, she twisted the dial on her satellite radio, turning the music up in the hope that it would drown out every other sound and thought. She wasn't even sure what she was listening to. It didn't matter.

She wondered if this was why Sarah had always been drawn to fast, flashy cars. Adia went for vehicles that drew no particular attention, cars she could get on short lease terms and trade in frequently, and she had always thought it was a little silly when Sarah picked out something that turned heads whenever she drove up.

But that was the way Sarah was.

Adia glanced at her instrument panel and realized the needle had just pa.s.sed ninety. Where were the cops who were supposed to be patrolling this highway, anyway? Wasn't there anyone out here still serving and protecting?

She flexed her left hand, clenching her jaw to control a wince as she did so. Two of the fingers were broken. They wouldn't wrap around the steering wheel. The arm was still sore from a minor fracture she had received half a week earlier. She would have double-checked that the hastily tied bandage on her arm was still in place, but she didn't think it was a good idea to take her one good hand off the wheel, even to make sure she wasn't bleeding again.

At least the other guy looked worse...though that would have been more comforting if the ”other guy” hadn't been a large bay window and some kind of ugly garden statue she had hit on her way down.

But it wasn't a complete loss. She had learned what she had needed to learn.

She had learned the last thing she had wanted wanted to learn. to learn.

Adianna Vida, now the only only child of Dominique Vida, matriarch of the ancient line of witches, wished she were still ignorant. It had taken a h.e.l.l of a fight, but she had finally, unfortunately, throttled the information out of someone. child of Dominique Vida, matriarch of the ancient line of witches, wished she were still ignorant. It had taken a h.e.l.l of a fight, but she had finally, unfortunately, throttled the information out of someone.

”Looks like she's decided to live, witch,” a bloodbond had told her, the last word like a curse. ”She's staying with Nikolas and Kristopher. Not that you'll find them. They've been hunted for more than a century. They know how to take care of themselves. Kristopher. Not that you'll find them. They've been hunted for more than a century. They know how to take care of themselves.”

Sarah was still alive.

No, not Sarah. The creature who existed now looked looked like Adia's little sister, but she wasn't a witch anymore; she was a vampire. She had woken at sundown and had hunted. No one had been able to tell Adia who the victim had been, but Sarah's change had been traumatic, which meant the first hunt would have been fierce. She had probably killed. like Adia's little sister, but she wasn't a witch anymore; she was a vampire. She had woken at sundown and had hunted. No one had been able to tell Adia who the victim had been, but Sarah's change had been traumatic, which meant the first hunt would have been fierce. She had probably killed.

And then she had decided to live as a vampire.

To continue continue as a vampire, at least. as a vampire, at least.

Which proved it really wasn't Sarah, right? A daughter of Vida waking to find herself a monster should have ended it at that moment. She should have known that stopping herself then then, before the vampiric power twisted her too badly, was the only way she could protect the helpless victims she would inevitably end up hurting in the future. But she hadn't.

Before Adia could learn any more, another bloodbond had leapt forward and sent them both through the window. Adia had wanted to fight at that point but had already found the information she needed, and knew that Dominique would disapprove of her lingering.

Realizing she was approaching her exit, she slowed-probably more abruptly than she should have, but who cared? It was six in the morning on a Sat.u.r.day, and she hadn't seen another car in nearly half an hour. She was almost home, and when she pulled into the driveway, she would have to be fully under control.

She turned the radio down to barely a whisper, until she could hear the mournful wind again. In front of her mother's house, the trees were already nearly bare, except for a few golden leaves they still managed to cling desperately to. She sympathized; some part of her had been ripped away, as well, when she had let her sister die.

It took her two tries to get the car door open with the damage to her arms. The frigid air that rushed in to replace the warmth in the car was bracing and helped her calm her thoughts. She managed not to limp as she approached the front door.

Her mother was waiting for her in the kitchen, at the antique oak table where Adia had spent countless hours as a child studying ancient Vida laws.

Forty years old, Dominique had been the only child of her father's second wife. She had survived the deaths of her parents, her sister, a niece and a nephew closer to her age than her sister had been, and Sarah and Adia's father, and all Adia had ever seen from her was stoicism and the grim acceptance that a hunter's life was dangerous. Her practical short blond hair had occasional bits of gray and her Vida-blue eyes were perhaps a little more tired, but she still stood as if carrying the weight of the world were simply a task she had to accept.

And at that moment, she wasn't alone.

Adia's cousin, Zachary, had a spread of weaponry in front of him and was in the process of cleaning and polis.h.i.+ng the collection of knives as Adia walked in. His blond hair and immaculate appearance were a marked contrast with the slightly scruffy features and dark hair of Michael Arun, who was flipping through the heavy tome of pictures and notes on known vampires.

Michael was from another line, but he was still a witch. The Arun line wasn't known for self-control or following all the rules, and Adia had never quite been able to relax her guard around Michael because of the vampiric taint to his aura, but at least he was a hunter. The Vida and Arun lines had fought side by side for generations, so his presence wasn't surprising, despite the hour. Most vampire hunters were nearly as nocturnal as their prey.

Adia was startled, however, to see Hasana Smoke sitting stiffly across the table from Zachary and staring pale-faced at the weaponry as her daughter Caryn read a paperback romance novel in the corner. Smoke witches, though every bit as respected as Vidas, were healers. They wouldn't engage in a fight even to protect their own lives, and they usually showed up at the Vida household only if someone was hurt.

More unusual still was the presence of Evan Marinitch. Nearing fifty, Evan had a lean body that made him seem younger. He was at that moment perched on the counter, hazel eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with fatigue and disapproval. The Marinitch line sometimes included hunters, but that wasn't their primary vocation. They were mostly scholars. Though technically kin to the Vida, Arun and Smoke lines, the Marinitch line kept to itself most of the time.

All the surviving lines were represented. Had Dominique called them to witness Sarah's trial, only to have them arrive just to hear about her death?

How had everything happened so fast? Two weeks before, Sarah had been complaining-softly, when Dominique couldn't hear-about having to move from New York City to the small suburb of Acton, Ma.s.sachusetts. Ten days ago, Adia had discovered that Sarah was being socially polite with two of the vampires who attended her school. The relations.h.i.+p had grown dangerously close before Adia even realized it was happening.

Two days ago, Dominique had bound Sarah's powers in antic.i.p.ation of a trial for crimes against the line. Alone and without her magic, Sarah had gone up against one of the infamous vampires of the modern age in an attempt to clear her name.

And then...Adia looked at the clock on the mantel. Just twenty-four hours ago, Adia had walked away and let that creature change her little sister into a monster. He had claimed that it was the only way to save her life, and in that moment, Adia had let herself believe the lie that her sister could still be saved.

But twelve hours ago, that monster had awoken and fed, and now- Oh, G.o.d.

Adia had memorized pages and pages of Vida law, and now at last the one that mattered came to mind. The other lines weren't here to witness a trial.

”Adia, what have you learned?” Dominique asked.

Hasana looked over her shoulder at Adia and her eyes widened. She shot to her feet. ”You're injured-”

Adia shook off the healer's concern and answered Dominique's question.

”According to numerous sources, Sarah has chosen to...live.” She hesitated before the last word, knowing that it wasn't exactly what she meant. ”She has fed, and is now staying with Nikolas and Kristopher, wherever they are.”

Hasana sagged with relief. Evan closed his eyes with a wince, undoubtedly knowing what was coming. Zachary nodded, his expression remote, and Michael paled. Michael Arun had always been a mystery to Adia, but he and Sarah had been close. They had even dated for a while, before deciding they were good partners when hunting but weren't compatible romantically.

Dominique didn't even blink. Impeccably controlled as always, she simply said, ”Well.”

She stood, and her gaze swept the a.s.sembled witches.

”My daughter is dead,” she announced. ”I know her killers.”

She placed on the table a pencil drawing of the twin vampires Nikolas and Kristopher, provided by the fiends themselves. The one called Kristopher had courted Sarah with drawings. He had befriended her, and Sarah had let him, despite Adia's begging her to be careful. She had always been headstrong.

”As a child of Macht, I am invoking the Rights of Kin,” Dominique said. Adia had known that it was coming, but she still consciously had to keep her expression controlled so she wouldn't flinch. ”Please witness.”