"NO!" I scream, frozen in horror at the scene that has just played out in front of me. A strong arm pushes me out the way as Zach stalks past me to where Ivan and Caleb are.

Ivan rolls off of Caleb and gets to his feet, wiping the blood away from his mouth. A triumphant smile adorns his lips as he looks down at Caleb clutching his wrist. His victory is short lived as Zach finally reaches him and uses his temporary distraction to chop the vampires head clean off in one long swipe, his sword slicing through skin like butter.

Ivan's head rolls by my feet, his eyes back to grey, before bursting into flames that quickly fade out.

I barely notice, rushing to Caleb's side as he holds his arm to his chest, smearing blood on his black jacket. "Your dagger, Peyton, where's your dagger?"

"Caleb-,"

"Let me." Zach quickly pushes me out the way yet again and crouches down next to Caleb, pulling his own small knife out of his boot. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but Zach dragging the sharp blade across Caleb's skin, was not it.

Blood pours from the wound just under the bite mark, the crimson flowing in a steady stream. I watch in horror as Zach presses just beneath it, squeezing the cut and making it seep out faster.

Zach turns to me, his eyes wide and full of panic. "Rope, or material or something like that, Peyton. Find some. Now."

I scramble to do as he says, looking around the small apartment for anything that could match his description. Running to the bathroom I find a threadbare towel and sprint back, handing it to Zach. He uses his knife to cut a long thin strip and ties it around Caleb's arm, just under his elbow. Pulling the ends tightly, he secures it like a tourniquet.

"Will he," I hesitate, not wanting to ask the question I know we are all thinking. "Be okay?"

"It's too soon to tell." Caleb, to his credit, answers with a steady voice, holding his bleeding arm against his chest. He looks a lot calmer than I feel right now. Even his measured response does nothing to quell my rising panic. "Thanks, Zach."

Zach nods once, standing up and dusting himself off. "We better get going. We made a lot of noise." He grips Caleb's other arm and helps him to his feet. "Come on Peyton."

Still in shock over what's just happened, I follow them to the window and watch as they climb out and onto the fire escape.

With one last look at the pile of ashes on the floor, I follow suit.

¤

The car ride back to headquarters is silent, all of us lost in our thoughts, until I can't take it anymore. "What the hell happened back there?"

I don't even know what I'm referring to. The fact that they took so long to come, the fact that Caleb was bitten, the way that Zach sliced Caleb's arm open?

The whole night seems to have passed in a crazy blur. Was it really only a couple of hours ago that Caleb zipped up my jacket and Zach told me that I was rubbing off on him? How has so much happened in such a short amount of time?

Neither of them answers me, but they exchange a look that speaks volumes.

"I'm so sorry Caleb," Zach mutters, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as he stares at the road ahead. I can't tell what he's apologizing for. Cutting Caleb's wrist? Not defending him properly?

"I know." Caleb looks down at his lap, his bitten arm clutched to his chest. "I understand."

"I sure as hell don't," I pipe up from the back seat, hoping for some clarification instead of the riddles they are currently speaking. They're both quiet for a long time and I just hope they have the sense to answer me before I lose my temper. I'm tired, my entire body is in pain and I am seriously worried about Caleb. I'm sick of trying to decipher their conversations instead of being included in them.

Caleb finally turns to face me, his face solemn. His forest green eyes are filled with resignation, looking darker in the moonlight. "Zach has to turn me over to Lideri."

The answer was not what I was expecting. "What? Why?"

"Caleb's been bitten," Zach answers me. "I did my best, but we can't be sure that the venom has left his system. He will need to go into isolation for a few days while we ensure he doesn't become one of them."

"But," I scramble for an argument. "Henry told me that usually it works its way out of the system through blood and sweat. Unless it's too close to the heart, which it definitely wasn't."

They exchange another silent glance. "Jennings, it's a risk that we can't take. Zach did the right thing, according to our training, but there's always the small chance that he didn't get all of it."

"And what happens." I don't want to ask but I need to know. "If you do become one of them?"

He looks away from me, his gaze returning to his lap. "Then I will be beheaded with iron."

Needless to say, I don't feel like talking much after that little revelation.

¤

"Zach, I want to see him," I insist, for what feels like the hundredth time.

It's been almost seventeen hours since we returned from our mission and Caleb was handed over to Lideri. I was shocked to see the sadness in Lideri's remaining eye as he instructed Zach to take Caleb to isolation.

It appears he does care after all.

Despite my confused feelings for Caleb, I do know one thing; I need to see him. If what he said about being beheaded is true, then it may be my last chance to talk to him, possibly ever. The thought makes me want to cry again, something that's happened far too often since we've been back. I care about him, I'm just not sure if it's as a friend or possibly more, and I want a chance to say goodbye, if that's what this comes to.

As soon as Zach and I had visited the medical ward and had our wounds attended to, I started asking to see Caleb. Every single time, Zach has denied my request. At first he tried to make it about my injuries, insisting that I would make them worse by going there, but I quickly told him that I knew he was just looking for excuses. Despite my throbbing body and the new stitches in my temple, I'm determined to convince Zach to let me go.

"I'm sorry Peyton, but you can't," Zach tells me again." Do you know what the word isolation means?"

"I don't care. It's not like I'm going to let him out. Please Zach, just tell me where to find him. You don't even have to come with me," I suggest, starting to feel a bit desperate. "Just point me in the general direction and I will find it."

"The answer is no, Peyton." A new voice joins us and I turn to see Lideri has walked into the training room where Zach has been helping me with my archery skills.

I have to admit, after four failed attempts where I dropped the bow halfway through the shot, and another six where I failed to even hit the board, I am slowly getting better. My last two have been pretty damn close to the bull's eye.

"Believe me Peyton, I understand your concern," Lideri states calmly. "I feel the same. However, this is the necessary action we have to take."

"And what if he turns? We can't just kill him," I protest. "This is Caleb! He can't die. I refuse to let him."

I sound like a petulant child throwing a tantrum, but I'm past the point of caring. I don't understand how they can be so calm about this while I am falling to pieces. I fiddle with the string of my bow, looking at Lideri with anger-fuelled eyes.

"We have to." He meets my gaze calmly, but it would be impossible to miss the sadness that is etched across his face, or the tear that is threatening to escape and roll down his scarred cheek.

"But Caleb's mother-,"

"Caleb made a different choice than his mother did. It is one you will face when you become a fully-fledged Hunter. The day you get your tattoo," he clarifies. "When it was Caleb's turn, he decided he would rather die than live out the rest of his days as a vampire. We have to respect that."

I freeze, shocked into silence for a moment. I had just assumed that this was Lideri's decision. It never occurred to me that Caleb would have chosen to die. I search for another argument, anything to get Lideri to listen to me because there is no way that the Caleb I know would still feel this way.

"He could have changed his mind!"

"He has not." Lideri shakes his head, his hands clasped tightly in front of him. "We renew the terms of our Hunter's contracts every year for that very reason. Caleb's answers remained the same when we did his recently. This is the fate he has chosen."

I look at Zach, hoping that he will dispute Lideri's words. He hasn't said a word since Lideri came in, letting our leader deliver the heart-breaking news. He refuses to meet my gaze, staring hard at the floor, a frown etched onto his face. His silence speaks louder than any words he could have said.

"To lose Caleb would be a great tragedy for all of us." Lideri gestures towards the three of us in the room. "But, we must remain hopeful. At the moment, this is all conjecture. Caleb could be perfectly fine and here we are, worrying for nothing." With that, he turns on his heel and leaves the room.

His parting words do nothing to calm the storm raging inside me. For the first time since I requested to join the organization, I find myself whole-heartedly regretting it. I want no part in the sacrifice of someone I've come to care about.

I'm also angry at Caleb for being such a martyr. Why couldn't he have made the decision that his mother did? He once told me that she doesn't hurt anyone, that she's lucid as long as she's well fed and that he goes down there and speaks to her. Why did he decide to die?

Well, what would you do, Jennings?

His voice is so clear in my head that for a moment I believe Caleb has actually entered the room. It's a question I didn't even realize I would need to contemplate before today. It's something I need to start thinking about, soon.

Desperate not to dwell on it anymore, I raise my bow and let loose an arrow, too frustrated to even be happy that it hit the bull's eye the one time I didn't even aim.

Caleb would be proud.

I'm a little embarrassed that I can feel tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

"Peyton." Zach awkwardly pats me on the back. "It will all be okay."

"Why did he choose to die?" My voice catches as I ask.

"If it's any consolation, it was before we met you."

"It's not," I mutter, releasing another arrow that flies through the air and hits the centre of the second target.