Page 50 of Bloodhunter

“Only someone desperate would take the risk he took,”Clayton said. At last, he lifted his stare to mine, and it was like his eyeswere magnets. I could not look away.

“Clayton.” Miriam rapped the table with her knuckles.“Continue.”

“I think he’s after you in particular,” Clayton told me,dropping his stare. “You’re not just a hunter. You’re something…more.”

“Clayton used to be something…more,” Miriam said, lightlymocking. “Before I plucked him out of Death’s greedy embrace. Before I changedhim and took away everything that made him special. Isn’t that right, Clayton?”

I sighed. Clayton looking me in the eye had obviously pissedher off.

“Yes,” he murmured. Blank. So blank.

“You were so upset.” Miriam’s voice became high and pleadingas she mocked him. “Send me back! Send me back to the niche! I beg you…”

He tightened his hands into fists and she reached over totap the back of his hand with one small finger, silently ordering him to relaxhis fists. “Send me back,” she said softly. “Remember, Clayton?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

I slapped the table so hard the plates jumped. “Stop it, youbitch!” Only Amias Sato had ever triggered such rage inside me. I wanted toreach across the table and tear off her head. “You fuckingbitch.”

Rhys grabbed the back of my neck and squeezed. The spotbitten by the vampire began to throb beneath his grip and I focused on thatpain until I was able to control my rage. I didn’t want to fight with Miriam. Iwould lose.

I didn’t want to make an enemy of her.

But I could not watch as she tormented another being. As shetormented Clayton.

The room went completely silent.

The dinner crowd hadn’t yet arrived, thank God, and thedining room was empty but for us and a couple of kids cleaning. The kitchen wasfull, though, and even they had silenced.

“Trinity,” Miriam said, shocked, though she tried hard toempty her eyes. “What on earth?”

Rhys eased his grip, then began rubbing his thumb over thebandage. “Okay now?” he murmured.

I looked at Miriam. “I don’t like the way you treat him.”

We stared at each other for a good two minutes. Claytondidn’t look up. He didn’t move. Most likely, I’d just made sure he was in for ahard night with his sadistic mistress.

“She’s human,” Rhys told Miriam. “We must remember that.”

“Don’t do that,” I said. “Don’t make excuses for me like Ineed them or she deserves them.”

“Let’s get back to the matter at hand,” Angus said, finally,his voice gruff. “Trin, you don’t know the circumstances. Mind your business,girl.”

Miriam smiled, and continued to hold my stare. “Maybe Ishould tell her. Should I tell her, Clayton?”

Slowly, so very, very slowly, and without moving anythingbut his eyes, he looked at me. “Yes,” he murmured.

Surprise lit her face and she glanced at him. “I should?”

He did not reply, and now it was no longer Miriam who heldme trapped in her darkness, but Clayton. I couldn’t break away, and I continuedto stare at him, at his despair, even though he was once again studying thetabletop.

Finally, Miriam shrugged. “All right. It’s understandable thatour bloodhunter is soft on the golem. She has no idea.” She took a deep,shuddery breath. “Clayton Wilder was a hunter, once upon a time. A bloodhunter,Trin, like you. Only problem was, he hunted more than vampires. And he took itupon himself to trap, torture, and murder my beloved father.”

Her face had gone even paler than usual, and tears stood inher eyes. When she continued, the horror of her memories made her voice raw andhoarse and so filled with pain that I could barely stand to listen.

“Took my father an entire night to die. It took me a lotlonger to kill Clayton, and then to bring him back as something I could own.”She leaned forward, suddenly, and grabbed my face, forcing me to look at her.“Clayton is my Amias Sato, Trinity. And I’ll treat him however I please for aslong as I can bear to keep him alive. Do you understand me?”

I wanted to ask herwhyClayton had killed herfather, but that would have made it seem like I believed there was an excusefor the killing. A reason for it. And I could not belittle her pain that way. Isimply nodded, so sick of our capacity for violence, sickness, and horror, andI dropped my gaze.