"Problem?" he asked in the terse quiet.
Bristling, Charles nonetheless lowered his hand and stepped away for Jonny to handle the vamp. Hands-on discipline was one way Jonny kept his people in line.
"Stefan killed one of the hotel employees," Charles explained.
Jonny knelt beside the vamp, who averted his gaze. The vamp was one of those turned since Jonny had come on board as the leader and tightened up their recruiting requirements to ensure only those who could follow his orders were vamped. The failure of a newer vamp despite the recruiting protocols was a personal disappointment for him. "Is that true?" he asked.
"Yes, ikir," came the response. "But I -"
"- lost control. Didn't mean to but couldn't stop," Jonny guessed. "Correct?"
The vamp nodded.
"It's the same thing everyone says. Do you know what it means?"
Another nod. The vamp was staring hard at the floor.
"It means you're too weak to be a vamp if you can't follow my orders. You can have as much blood as you want as long as you don't kill," Jonny said quietly. "Our people have a real chance of living in peace. No more war. No more hiding. No more being hunted like animals. But we have to prove we aren't animals for that to happen. The future of our entire race depends upon you following the rules I create so we aren't dragged into another war."
"Zero tolerance," whispered the vamp.
"Zero tolerance."
"He's a newbie Tracker," Charles voiced softly.
"He's of no use to me if he can't fucking follow orders," Jonny replied firmly. "One vamp will not jeopardize the future for the rest of us. Every vamp gets one kill - the one that turns him into a vamp. No more."
Charles said nothing. Jonny was cursing inside. He needed every Tracker he could get. All the vamp had to do was refrain from taking a life. If he was still hungry after he ate, he could find a new blood supply. There was no limit to the amount of humans they could drink from in a night - as long as the people were left alive.
"But you kill," the vamp whispered.
"I do," Jonny said. "Because mercy in my position is considered weakness. I learned that four months ago, when Valon took half my surviving vamps with him. I show mercy in only one way now. You know what that is?"
Another nod.
"What's your decision?"
The vamp shifted to sit. Jonny smelled his fear. He had long since hardened himself to the necessity of killing, even if it was a vamp with a skill he desperately needed. But he didn't like it. He didn't care to kill humans, and he hated killing his own loyal vamps. The harsh discipline needed to rein in his predators had been the hardest skill for him to learn.