Demon Night

He couldn’t determine if that would be worse than what his resistance was already doing to her.
    Selah’s eyebrows winged upward. “You already want her. The bloodlust only increases the intensity of it.”
    “That it does. Makes it near impossible not to—”
    “ Near impossible. But if your reaction to her is anything like mine to Lucas, I’d bet that even without the bloodlust, it’s near impossible, too,” Selah said.
    He scrubbed his hand over his hair, feeling damned awkward as he admitted, “That’s true enough.”
    “Yet you’re able to stop, no matter how badly you want to keep going.” A small smile touched the corners of her mouth. “Have a bit of faith in yourself, Drifter. The bloodlust takes their choice, not yours—and you won’t hurt someone you mean to protect. You aren’t an Enthralled novice anymore.”
    And he wasn’t—but he sure hadn’t trusted himself any more than if he still had been one.
    Well, hell. He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose. “In the past twenty-four hours, I’ve said something similar to Jake about faith, and told Charlie the same thing about not being a novice.”
    “Funny how that happens. I find myself quoting Hugh about once a day,” she said, then added wryly, “And, depending on the situation I find myself in, I change the wording about ten times a day.”
    Adapting, adjusting. Selah vanished, and Ethan walked back to Charlie’s room. He’d be doing his own adjusting now. Maybe it wouldn’t make a difference, but he wouldn’t be resisting Charlie again.
    And if it didn’t make a difference…he simply didn’t know what he’d do.

    Ethan was quiet when he returned, and he stood watching her as she finished getting ready—but Charlie couldn’t find much to say, either. And her attempts to reassure him, tell him that she was okay only seemed to deepen his silence.
    It continued as she walked with him to the tech room and endured a searching glance from Jake. Even seeing the e-mail from Jane did little to lighten her mood. And though Jane had included a personal reference to let Charlie know it truly was her sister, the bulk of the message wasn’t for her.
    After she’d read halfway through, she turned in her chair. Ethan was frowning down at the new cell phone Jake had placed in his hand.
    “Drifter,” she said, and he looked up. “Jane says that Sammael let the vampires go, and gave each of her colleagues the option to stay or leave—although those who left couldn’t take any of their research with them. Five of the scientists—and all of the vampires—stayed.”
    Jake frowned. “All of them? How’d Legion manage that?”
    “Because a demon could likely convince a wolf to shed its fur in the middle of a blizzard,” Ethan said dryly, then released a heavy breath. “Or he’s lying. I ought to contact those who left, then, and see if they want any help from us.”
    “Or a job at Ramsdell Pharmaceuticals,” Jake said.
    “When Michael shows up, I’ll put that in front of him,” Ethan said. “I can’t see as it would hurt to study the blood, but I don’t know if he’ll be wanting to follow in a demon’s footsteps.”
    Charlie read a little more. “Also, she’s making Sammael give her samples of demon blood. She wants to know if she should send some down, so you have another link to her if you need one.”
    “I reckon we can just keep it stored here. Ain’t no one going to want to carry it around in their cache.” Ethan glanced at Jake as the younger Guardian shuddered. “And how is it that you know what demon blood feels like?”
    “I don’t,” Jake said. “I’ve just heard.”
    Charlie’s brows rose in question, and Ethan explained, “It creeps, Charlie. Nosferatu blood, too—but just when it’s in our cache. I’ve heard a few vampires mention that it tastes better—more powerful—than vampire or Guardian blood.” He straddled the chair next to her. “Not that there’s many vampires who’ve fed from demons or nosferatu—leastwise, not many who’ve lived to talk about it.”
    Charlie angled the monitor so that he could more easily read Jane’s message. “What’s a nosferatu? Was that what you were fighting at Jane’s house?”
    “No, that was supposedly one of the nephilim,” he said, scanning the e-mail. “But the nosferatu ain’t any more partial to vampires than the nephil was, Charlie. So if you ever encounter one of them, you take off running and get behind the