The Black God

Jonny understood the pointed look without Brandon saying anything about his sister directly. His irritation stirred. "Xander and Damian know you're beating up my vamps?"

Brandon went rigid.

"I didn't think so," Jonny said and shook his head. "Don't be stupid, Brandon. Stop targeting my vamps."

"Stop hurting innocent people and we might."

We. Double shit. It was getting harder to deny the obvious. "It's what I do. No need for you to get involved."

Brandon threw the phone at him.

Jonny caught it. "You get off with a warning this time because of who you're related to," he said. "I'll take matters into my own hands next time."

"Get out, Jonny."

Jonny reached into his pocket and pulled Ashley's necklace free. "Tell your sister not to come near my vamps again." He set the necklace on the breakfast bar.

Without another word, Jonny Traveled out of the apartment to the sidewalk outside. He was tenser than usual. He pocketed the phone, relieved to have it back, and glanced up at the building. He hoped his personal warning would scare the siblings straight. If they were anyone else …

He shook his head. He'd eat one and feed the other to his vamps. Guardians weren't off limits like humans. As for Naturals … he'd never had a reason to consider what to do with them since most were either under the protection of Guardians to start off with or he had no way to identify them with his destroyed infrastructure. It seemed like an oversight not to have a policy for interacting with Naturals.

At least he had some leverage if they hadn't told either the White God or their protector what they were doing. If they failed to obey him, he could alert Xander first and then act.

Jonny shoved his hands into his pockets and began walking, waiting until he was out of sight of anyone else before Traveling back to his home.

So Ashley was a Natural warrior, and her brother was on stealth mode. As soon as he'd realized whose apartment he was in, he'd experienced a thrill and hoped to see Ashley, not her brother. The disappointment and relief flickering through him were baffling. How was he eager to see a girl he hadn't set eyes on in over four years? One he'd last seen before the war with the Others, and who he'd walked away from after she realized he betrayed her?

There was no place for emotion or the past in his world.

I'm exhausted. That's it, he told himself. Nocturnal or not, he still needed more sleep. It didn't look like his life was about to get any easier soon, though, and he had the talisman he needed. He banished the thought of Ashley from his mind without being able to completely suppress the interest his discovery created.