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to Aurora to guarantee the safety of the rest of the family. It was a promise Aurora had broken, instead kidnapping Heather to lure Jenn—and Antonio—to New Orleans. Aurora’s ultimate target had been Antonio, but first she’d amused herself with Heather.
    I’m going to kill you, Aurora, Jenn promised. She trembled, but one steely-calm look from Gramma Esther told her she needed to keep herself under control. Her mother needed her.
    Did she cry like this when I ran away from home to join the academy? she wondered. She didn’t think so.
    “Where did Heather go?” her mom wailed.
    “Here is wine,” the housekeeper announced. Unnoticed by Jenn, she’d left the room and returned with a bottle of what looked like port and four small glasses. Jenn was eighteen, and in Spain that was an acceptable age to drink, but Jenn hadn’t gotten used to it yet. Still, she took the glass Señora Nevado poured for her. Jenn’s mother drank hers down quickly, but Gramma Esther barely sipped hers. Instead she looked hard at Jenn, as if trying to convey her a silent message.
    “When did you get here?” Jenn asked.
    “Just a few minutes ago. An old friend offered us a lift,” Gramma Esther said meaningfully. “He’s moving to Budapest.”
    Jenn blinked in shock. Did Gramma Esther mean Greg, the leader of the black crosses? He was their contact with the covert government operation dubbed Project Crusade.
    A gentle rap came at the door, and Father Juan poked in his head. “Ah, I see that you found Jenn,” he said. “Please, Leitner ladies, I have found a place where you will be more comfortable while we talk.”
    Jenn put her untouched glass on Señora Nevado’s tray, murmured “Gracias,” and turned to go. The housekeeper gestured for Jenn to hand over her towel and workout clothes. Jenn complied and thanked her again.
    The group was silent as they entered the little chapel. Jenn was disappointed not to see Antonio. She felt a deep pang, as if part of her were missing too.
    Father Juan gestured for the three to sit in one of the pews. Then he bowed on one knee, crossed himself, and slid into the pew in front of them, half turning to face them. Jenn studied his face as he looked around, ensuring that they were alone.
    “I have some things I need to tell you,” he said. “I must caution you to keep them to yourselves. Although we are surrounded by my brothers in Christ, we are not necessarily among friends.”
    “What do you mean?” Jenn’s mother asked nervously.
    “You are aware that the government of your country is cooperating with the Cursed Ones,” he began.
    “Yes,” Gramma Esther replied. “And so was my son, Jenn’s dad.”
    Jenn clenched her fists in her lap as fresh anger surged through her. Her grandmother said the words so matter-of-factly, as if she were talking about a stranger. Maybe, in her mind, she was.
    “He knows that was a mistake,” Jenn’s mom cut in, looking pale and wan. “And that’s why we have to get him out of there.”
    Gramma Esther made no comment.
    “Perhaps you also know that Spain, alone, has refused to surrender.” Father Juan’s face darkened. “Until now. The hunters have been ordered to disband, and we priests must no longer teach or lead them. I have refused to stop, and for this I have been cast out of the Church.”
    Esther pursed her lips while Jenn’s mother wiped away her tears. “So it’s not safe in Spain,” Jenn’s mother said. “Jenn, how could you bring Heather here?”
    Jenn felt dizzy. Mom doesn’t know Heather’s been converted, she thought. Jenn peered under her lashes at Father Juan, who shook his head surreptitiously at her, as if to say, I’ll tell her.
    “You know a few things about us,” the priest went on slowly. “You know, for example, that we have among us a vampire who fights for humanity.”
    “He was at the camp,” Jenn’s mom said, fidgeting nervously with her fingers. “Something happened to him, didn’t it? He had become