There was a moment of quiet in the clearing. This listeners, almost as if part of a group mind, together realized that this moment had been one of the most important in history. If Sadie's . . . Eve's meager army had lost, then vampires would have ruled the world. And it was a secret that this one woman had carried alone for so long.

Sadie continued. "Adam had grabbed a young man and hauled him into the air. I saw that the human was terrified. I couldn't let him die . . . not like that. The wound in my back hurt so much, but I had to stop...