Eternal War Rising to the South: The Beynok Vampire Series by Erika Bradshaw Page B

that want to kill them. Knowing there was more to the story, I waved my hands in the air and said, “Fine, I’ll accept your story for now. What do we do with him?”
    “Nothing … we do nothing. We’ve tried in the past to kill him. It doesn’t work out so well. Stay away from him at all costs, and don’t let him manipulate you. Do not believe a word he tells you.”
    I stared at her and asked, “Since when do we not track down known vampires and kill them?
    “Something is strange,” she said, and her voice cracked.
    “I know. I’ve already said that.”
    “No, not about Sorin. I have an instinct that says we’re being tracked. Do you not have your senses open?”
    “I guess I … I don’t know. Our conversation is a little overwhelming. I was concentrating on you.”
    My senses were open but just focused on Irena. She was withholding information, and I needed to find out what it was. She was right, though. We were being followed by something. My senses reached out in the direction of the water. Something was out there. It didn’t want to hurt us but only to keep tabs on us.
    “We need to get back to the house and quickly to warn the others. I feel we’ll be under attack soon.” She was fierce when she spoke, as if the battle had already begun. “Now, Anya.”
    We ran back to the house as quickly as we could. When we got there, everything was calm and normal. I sensed no danger. Everyone was either downstairs or in the kitchen or the TV room. It was an average relaxing day. I spotted a new face and figured she must be Elizaveta, the survivor from Canon City.
    “Anya and Irena, come here, I would like you both to meet Elizaveta,” Vladimir said. “Anya is our field leader, and Irena is here from Russia.”
    Irena politely said her hello and rushed Vladimir off to the study where Boris was resting, most likely to discuss our stalker and go over strategies. We had never had to defend ourselves in our own home. This was a new type of war for all of us.
    “Nice to meet you, Elizaveta,” I said. “We’re glad to have you.” I shook her hand. She had a firm grip and looked me straight in the eye, which was good. She wasn’t a weakling. Some Beynoks in their first rise don’t have enough confidence and assurance in their abilities. She seemed to be good on that note. The rest of her appearance impressed me as well, except for one detail, her hair. She had shoulder-length, dyed blonde hair. I wondered, What’s with Beynok women dyeing their hair? Is brown not in? She was a couple of inches taller than I was and was a bit masculine for a female, which is good for a Beynok hunter. You could see the outlines of muscles through her shirt. All and all, she seemed like a good addition to our team.
    “It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said. “Misha used to talk about you. He said you were an amazing fighter and a good field leader.” I could tell she was still grieving the loss of Misha by the way she said his name. We all were. “I hope I will not disappoint you.”
    “You will do fine.”
    “You can call me El. Everyone in Cannon City called me that and I am used to it. Of course, if you prefer to call me by my full name, I have no problem with that.”
    “I’ll call you whatever you’ll respond best to out in the field, and if that’s El, then we’ll call you El.” Good, she takes authority well and respects me already. We’ll get along just fine.
    Vladimir, Irena, and Boris came out of the study with a look of war written all over their faces. Before I knew it, they had devised a plan, and we were on guard at our divided stations, in pairs, of course. Yuri and El were downstairs in the living room guarding the back door. Nickolai and Irena were downstairs guarding the front doors. Boris and Nadia were upstairs guarding the main balcony in the front of the house. Vladimir and I were upstairs guarding the back balcony from my room, of all places.
    I would be stuck with Vladimir in my room in