The Mark of the Vampire Queen by Joey W. Hill

to choose a human and that human will fight. He should fight. Defend himself whatever way he can. Maybe he’ll get away; maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll kill the vampire.”
    â€œYou’re saying that it’s okay for a vamp to kill humans.”
    â€œI’m saying that we’re the only species that doesn’t accept that being prey may be a part of Nature’s cycle for us.” Jacob blew out his breath, brought his hands slapping down on the table surface. The waitress who’d been approaching with more coffee backed off, went to another table. “We’re expected to try and stay alive. Whatever the Powers That Be, I don’t think they intended us to exterminate an entire species to make us a hundred percent safe.”
    Gideon’s eyes narrowed. “What are you going to do, little brother, when she orders you to help her take down her annual kill? Tarnish that armor of yours? Lure to his death someone like your Mr. Ingram, a guy who thinks he has a purpose for living beyond being dinner to a vampire? Hell, I know you. You’re not comfortable with that. You’re not a killer.”
    â€œI was a killer when I helped you.” Jacob pushed his plate to the side. “A killer takes someone’s life intentionally, against their will, whether justly or unjustly. I haven’t got all the answers. I just know I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
    â€œI don’t understand you at all.”
    â€œYes, you do.” Jacob met his gaze. “You just don’t want to. The first girl you ever loved died at a vampire’s hand.”
    A muscle flexed in Gideon’s jaw. “According to your logic, I should have said ‘that’s Nature’ and walked away.”
    â€œNo. Actions have consequences. Vampires know that as well as we do. But Gideon, you were eighteen and Laura was sixteen. You’re getting more bitter, year by year. Would she have wanted this—”
    â€œStop crawling around in my head.” Gideon jabbed a finger at him. “I don’t care about their motives. If I can kill every last one of them, I will.”
    So no man will ever again have to grieve until his heart cannibalizes itself. Jacob remembered Laura. He’d thought she was too fragile for his brother’s strong personality, but she had a sweetness no man could resist wanting to protect. So the man who chose to love her would have felt doubly responsible when he couldn’t keep her from getting killed. Particularly a man who had lost his parents when he was only twelve, left with the self-imposed responsibility of looking after his eight-year-old brother.
    His brother would keep driving himself with hate and blood until he was dead. The signs had been there for a while. Like any person with a family member addicted to a destructive path, Jacob had tried everything, even joining him. In the end the only thing he could do was walk away, refusing to support the self-destruction anymore. With a sinking heart, he realized that it appeared only to have made his brother more committed to his violent path. It was now Gideon against the whole world and all it had done to hurt him, manifested in the form of shadowy creatures of the night with gleaming fangs.
    â€œWhy, Jacob? Just…why?” Why have you done this to me? To us?
    It was as clear as if Gideon had spoken the thought.
    Because he couldn’t harden himself against the anguish in Gideon’s voice, Jacob took one more stab at honesty. “She was in my dreams long before I even met her, Gid. You know how I’ve always felt like I was searching for something? That night we saw her, suddenly there was this huge relief inside me. There you are. Boom. The monk that trained me believed I’ve served her before. In previous lifetimes.”
    Seeing Gideon’s lip curling up in a sneer, he continued stubbornly, “I don’t know whether I believe that, and it’s