"Ebony," Janet said, staring at a passed-out Carter on the sofa bed in the living room of our apartment. "I have a few follow-up questions,"

"Yes," I smiled sweetly at her.

"How come you never told me our boss was a vampire? And that you were dating him?" She said, leaning over Carter's still body. "Gosh, he is spectacular up close, isn't he?"

"Sorry, I just couldn't," I said watching her stand over Carter as he lay on the couch. "And yes, he is," I said proudly.

"And you," She pointed at Callan who was sitting on a chair cleaning his wounds. "You are the vampire son of my passed-out boss, and soon to be my best friend's stepson?" She smiled at Callan, who smiled back at her and fixed his dark hair.

"Single, vampire stepson," he winked and smiled his perfect smile at her. She blushed instantly. "And you are the prince of all vampires?" She turned to Henry, who was pacing by the front window of our apartment.

"Yes, I thought we just went through all this with her? Does your friend suffer memory loss?" Henry said, raising an eyebrow at Janet and studying her like she was in a zoo. "There is something about you that makes me feel angry."

"You don't date much, do you?" She snapped back at him.

"I don't need to," he said quite abruptly. "I have all my needs met. Why would I want to date?" He glared at her.

"Ok," I said, cutting him off. I liked Henry, but he was still learning how to talk with human girls. He still didn't quite understand why they don't all fall at his feet like all other creatures. "Does anyone know where Jake is?"

"Last time I saw him, he was running through the city with a mob after him," Henry said, turning away from Janet's angry eyes. "He said he would find us."

"It's been over three hours now, he should be here," I walked back over to Carter who was still out cold. "Carter honey, you need to wake up. We need you," I said, touching his dark hair with my fingers. He didn't move an inch. "Why isn't he waking up? You have almost healed Callan, and yet Carter is still covered in cuts and bruises. What is wrong?"

"I don't know?" Callan shrugged. "He should still have the ability to heal himself. Maybe I should slap him hard like they do in the movies?" Callan grinned from ear to ear.

"That's your solution? Hit him more?" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, what have you got?" Callan snapped back.

"You could try kissing him like they do in Disney movies?" Janet said sweetly.

"Are you sure you weren't dropped on your head recently?" Henry said, staring at her again.

"You could slap him," Janet said, smiling at Callan and then at a surprised-looking Henry.

"With pleasure," Callan bounced off the chair and charged at Henry. They wrestled on the floor as Henry tried to escape Callan's reach.

"Carter, please wake up. I need you. We really need you right now." I touched his handsome face and closed my eyes. There was a loud knock at the door, which made me jump.

"Guys, open the fuck up!" I heard Jake yell from the door. I jumped up and ran to open the door.

"Jake, I was so worried about you. Oh, shit," I cried out as I saw him holding his blood-soaked chest.

"Eb, I think, I might need some help," Jake slurred as he collapsed on the ground in front of me.

"HELP," I screamed as I dropped to Jake's side on the ground. "Jake," I yelled as Callan and Henry rushed to my side and picked Jake up off the floor. They carried him inside and placed him on the kitchen counter.

"Fuck, he's been staked," Callan yelled. "The tip of the stake is stuck in his chest. We need to pull it out. He can't heal with the stake inside him"

"It's so deep in his chest, how are we going to get it out?" Henry said, trying to reach down into the gaping hole in Jake's chest.

"Try these," I said, handing Henry our salad tongs. "They might be able to reach."

Henry nodded and stuck the tongs into his chest as Jake groaned loudly. "I can't reach it," Henry yelled out in frustration as he tried again.

"Shit, we're losing him," Callan yelled as he slapped Jake in the face. "Jake, stay with me, man. Come on; brothers don't leave each other behind," he yelled at a lifeless Jake on the kitchen counter.

"Jake, wake up," I yelled, rushing to his side. "Don't you dare leave me here," I reached for his cold hand. "I need you," I said through my tears.

"It's just too deep. The only thing I can do is rip open his chest and get it out," Henry said, shaking his head.

"Shit," I screamed out in absolute panic.

"He can't heal with the stake in him," Henry said calmly. "One of us is going to have to reach inside his chest and find that piece of wood or he dies. We need to do this now."

"I'll do it," I said, surprising myself. "I'll get it out."

"Ebony, it's not that easy," Callan said.

"I have to try," I said through my tears. "I'm not going to just give up on him," I moved closer to Jake's wound, and I could see the tip of the stake deep inside his chest cavity. "Shit," I yelled loudly as I used the tongs to hold open his bleeding wound. "Ok, I'm going to need someone to hold these while I dig inside him," I tried to say with authority.

"I'll do it," Callan said, walking behind me and taking the tongs.

"Ok, on three. You push open the wound, and I'll pull out the tip of the stake."

"Ok, on three or after three?" Callan said looking at me.

"On three," I said and Callan nodded. "One, Two, Three." Callan pushed open the wound as much as he could, and I dug my thumb and finger deep into Jake's oozing chest. I could feel the wood under my fingers.

"MORE," I yelled to Callan, who pushed Jake's chest apart even more. I dove my fingers into Jake's chest a little deeper and felt the tip of the stake between my fingers.

"HOLY NAKED MOTHER FUCKER IN HELL," Jake yelled out in pain as he sat up and clutched his chest.

"Got it," I yelled, holding the tiny tip of the bloody stake in my fingers.

"FUCK ME DRUNK, THAT HURTS," Jake yelled out, falling backward onto the kitchen counter again. "That is not how you are supposed to finger someone, Ebony. Good thing you're not a lesbian. I'll show you later how too..." Jake passed out cold mid-sentence.

"Is he going to be alright?" Janet called from the other room.

"He is going to be fine," I smiled with complete relief. "I might have a stroke after that, but he will be fine." I shook the remaining black blood off my hand.

"I can't take much more of this. I'm royalty. We don't deal with stress very well," Henry said, closing his eyes.

"Guys, what do we do now?" Callan said, looking over at Carter, who was still lying on the sofa, not moving. "We are two vampires down, and we are losing this war."

"Guys, I'm actually scared right now," I said looking between Callan and Henry.

"This is almost becoming impossible for us to win," Callan collapsed on the chair behind him completely exhausted. "I need to feed and heal."

"Callan, don't do this to me. I need you to be strong. I don't know what to do anymore." I threw my arms up in the air in complete frustration. "Do we just sit here?" I knew I needed to feed as well as I was feeling weak just as Callan was.

"We cannot give up. We must keep fighting for our people." Henry said putting his hand on my back. "I know you are all weak from hunger but we must remain strong. We must keep fighting for what we believe in."

"I agree," a deep voice said behind me. "We may be behind at the moment, but we have something they don't, we have a family to fight for." I turned to see Carter standing behind me, his face still covered in cuts but with a smile on his face. "Hello, my beautiful sunshine," he said softly as I ran into his arms. He groaned slightly as I jumped on him and kissed him softly.

"You're awake. I thought I had lost you," I said in between kisses.

"I thought I told you to stay at the castle," he said firmly.

"You did, but destiny had other plans," I smiled.

"She is good at killing things father, like really good, like if I were you, I would sleep with one open eye kind of good," Callan said, making a face.

"I see, you like to kill things, my sunshine?" Carter said, smiling.

"I do, I really do," I grinned. "Are you ok?"

"I feel weak, but after I fed, I will feel much better," he sniffed the air and was suddenly staring at a very nervous-looking Janet in the corner of the room. "And you are?" He said, narrowing his eyes on her.

"Janet, I'm just Janet, sir," she waved nervously at Carter, who was still glaring at her.

He placed me on the ground and walked towards her slowly, almost with caution. "What are you?"

"I work for you," she said, taking a step back. "I work for you at the office at the reception."

"I asked what you are," he growled at her.

"I told you, I work for you," she cowered against the wall as he moved closer to her.

"I have ways of making you talk," Carter said, moving to her side quite quickly. "Tell me what you are, or I'll make you feel pain like you never have before," Carter said, grabbing her neck with his hand. "What are you?"

"Ebony, make him stop, please. He's hurting me. Please don't hurt me," Janet wailed as Carter growled at her again.

"Carter! Let her go. She is my friend," I yelled at him. "How dare you."

"You think you can fool me?" He said, grabbing Janet's face and slamming her head against the wall hard. "You think I can't smell you inside her?"

"CARTER," I yelled, trying to grab his hand off her face. "Let her go."

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Janet said in Carter's face. "You filthy half-blood," she hissed. "How are you still standing? The poison should have killed you by now."

"Janet?" I said, stepping back. "What the hell?"

"You want to kill me? I dare you to try," Carter said, pushing her up against the wall and squeezing her neck so tightly she was gasping for air.

"What the hell is going on?" I yelled at them both.

"This creature is not your friend anymore. Your friend is long gone. This hideous thing is using your friend's body like a meat suit. This thing is using you to get to me," he said calmly, not taking his eyes off Janet, well what was left of Janet. "Are you a witch?" Carter yelled in Janet's face.

"Please," the creature inside Janet laughed. "As if a witch could do any of this."

"A demon then, I see. This means my brother has opened the portal to hell." Carter said through gritted teeth.

"Oh shit," Callan said, shaking his head.

"Hell?" I said, completely puzzled. "What does that mean?"

"It means we have a lot more than vampires and witches to worry about right now. Leon is not trying to take over this world. No, he plans on ending it," Carter said, looking over at me. "And he is taking everyone down with it. Heaven and hell included."

"He plans on eradicating the human world." Janet hissed at Carter. "You cannot stop us now," the creature laughed as blood poured from its mouth.

"We need to get to the portal and close it before it's too late, and this world is nothing more than blood and corpses," Carter ordered.

"It's too late. The master has already begun the destruction of the vile place. This world is as good as gone," Janet laughed throwing her head back.

"Can I talk to her for one minute?" I smiled at Carter sweetly.

Carter raised his eyebrow at me. "Really?"

"Just for a minute. Please," I said nodding my head.

"Of course, baby, all yours," Carter said, smacking the creature's head against the wall. "Be nice or I will take over the conversation again." He smacked the face of Janet as he walked backward and made room for me in between them.

I walked in front of her. "What did you do to my friend?" I said, grabbing her hair and pulling her head towards me.

The creature just laughed. "She was a screamer," it said, licking its lips. "She begged me to stop."

I felt the tears in my eyes burn as I watched this creature laugh at my friend's death. "You killed an innocent girl who had nothing to do with any of this. I'm going to enjoy killing you," I said as I felt the tears fall from my eyes.

"Go ahead, we're all as good as dead anyway," it hissed.

"Fuck you," I screamed, wiping my tears. "She didn't deserve this."

"No, she didn't, but you did," it said slowly. "You are the reason she needed to die."

"I ...." I couldn't speak through my tears now.

"Baby, let me do this," Carter said in my ear. "You don't need to see this,"

I just nodded letting go of her hair. "Make it pay for hurting her Carter. I want to hear it scream for its life." I said as I walked out of the room. My tears fell down my cheek as I heard the creature scream out in agony from Carter who was slowly killing it.

My friend was gone forever because of me. Her blood was on my hands. I'm sorry Janet, please forgive me.

I walked out of the tiny apartment I once shared with her and looked up at the sky. I wept for my lost friend as I listened to her voice; screaming out for vengeance on me. I slowly gave into my guilt and sank to my knees as I cried listening to her screams of horror in the stillness of the night. I'm sorry my friend. I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you. I'm sorry.