Covet (Clann)

day, she asked one of the other New York descendants to go check on them at their apartment. They found them, called 911—”
    Mom wailed again.
    “Come on, honey, let’s go upstairs for a while,” Dad said, trying to steer Mom toward the hallway.
    “I want to go to New York,” she said. “I have to see them.”
    Dad and I shared a look. Mom leaving Jacksonville like this was a bad idea. Mom was almost equal to Dad in magical abilities, if not stronger in some areas. That made her a loaded gun nearly impossible to disarm. Normally her sense of propriety and desire to protect the Clann’s secrets held her abilities in check.
    But now her only sister’s family had been murdered by a vampire. I couldn’t see how anything could possibly keep her from literally going nuclear all over New York.
    Dad was going to have his hands full this week keeping Mom’s temper reined in and under control.
    “I’ll call Emily and let her know,” I said to Dad’s back as he led Mom upstairs.
    Emily picked up on the second ring. “What’s up?”
    “Uh, I’ve got some bad news. Aunt Cynthia and Uncle James and their girls…” My throat convulsed and I had to clear it before I could finish. “They’re…they’re gone, Em.”
    “What? What happened?” she gasped.
    “They think it was a vampire attack.” Just saying the words made me feel sick. I braced a hand against the cold granite island, dropping my head.
    “Oh my God,” Emily whispered. “Are they sure?”
    “Dad says they’re pretty sure. A descendant found them first.”
    “Could it have just been made to look like a vamp attack?” In the background, horns blared then quickly faded. Emily must be driving through Tyler like even more of a maniac than usual.
    “Maybe. Are you coming home?”
    “Yeah. I should be there soon.”
    “Okay.” I started to hang up, hesitated. “Listen, drive careful, okay? I don’t think Mom could handle you getting into a wreck right now.”
    “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be home in thirty.” With a sniffle, she ended the call.
    I dropped down onto a barstool at the island and rested my head in my hands.
    This couldn’t be happening. As far as I’d heard, the Clann hadn’t had anyone die in a vamp attack in decades. How could a vamp have taken out an entire family of descendants like that? And especially my aunt and uncle. Aunt Cynthia and Uncle James were almost as powerful as my parents.
    Twenty-three minutes later, Emily’s car roared up the driveway and into the garage. She must have broken the speed limits and then some to get here that fast. Seconds later she burst into the kitchen, giving me a quick, hard hug before heading upstairs at a jog.
    “Emily,” Mom wailed as my sister opened our parents’ bedroom door. “They’re gone!”
    Emily murmured something, followed by our mom’s sobs before someone shut the bedroom door again.
    A few minutes later, Dad came back downstairs. He dropped onto the barstool beside me, his heavy frame making the metal creak in protest.
    “Well, looks like we’ll be going to New York.” He sighed. “There’s no talking her out of it, not with the state she’s in.”
    “You’d better at least keep her drugged or something then,” I said, not joking in the least. “Otherwise there’s no telling what might happen.”
    “I know. I’ll take some sleeping pills with us. While we’re gone, Emily will stay here—”
    “Dad, come on. I’m seventeen. I don’t need a babysitter.”
    “No arguments, Tristan. It’s the only way your mom and I are going to let you stay here. Your mom would already prefer you and Emily come with us. But to be honest, I don’t think you two need to be anywhere near New York. If there’s a rogue vamp in that area, the farther you two are from it the better. Furthermore, an adult descendant will be coming to stay here with you.”
    “Are you serious? I’m probably more advanced than any of them now!” That wasn’t cockiness, either, and we both knew it. Dad had been training me to become the fifth generation Coleman to lead the Clann someday, and the weekly practice sessions over the last couple of years had taught me almost everything he knew about magic. Even Dad sometimes had trouble blocking my practice spells.
    Not that he seemed to remember that right now.
    “Son, do you have any idea how serious this situation is? We’re talking about a possible total breakdown of the peace treaty if we don’t get a hold on this thing right away.