The Search for Charlotte, Day 1
Wade and I tracked Charlotte the better part of the day. It was hours before we were even able to get the faintest hint of her scent. It led us northward to the Iron Horse Trail and along the mountains.
One thought has been haunting me since she disappeared.
Charlotte is gifted. Don’t mean that in the high school kind of way. The girl has talent; she can make people do what she wants them to do. If she was taken by force, it meant she couldn’t use her gift.
There’s only one or two vampires I’ve ever heard about who could pull that off.
One of them has already has a taste of her and promised to come back for a second bite.
After catching his scent, I knew with certainty that he had. Cassian.
Cassian was the main recruiter for Dias in the Southern Covens. He was damn good at what he did, and under his command the Dias coven held most of the southern tip of Texas and stretched into Mexico.For decades he led the Dias troops in battle, squaring off against Maria Vasquez on multiple occasions. His training methods are relentless and ruthless; Dias held so large a territory because his soldiers were highly skilled. Cassian was known for killing his newborns for the smallest mistake; even the minute errors on the battlefield were unforgivable. He’d recruit throughout Texas, setting up training camps in every part of unclaimed wilderness and drawing from them when he needed replacements for his frontlines.
After a falling out with Dias, Cassian got tired of playing second fiddle and moved northward to recruit and gather only the most gifted vampires to return to Texas and take back the south for Cassian. That’s how I met him; I was forced into his service. Charlotte was as well. We escaped, and thought we had left that bastard behind.
I guess we were wrong.
