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circumstances, he’d run as far away as possible. He’s a hider. And that won’t work for me right now.
    “Please tell us?” I ask again.
    Jude moves slightly to block Dean’s exit in case he decides that this is a bad idea and wants to run.
    Sorry, buddy .
    “I…” Dean says. I can see it on his face. He’s thinking about running. If manages to get away and we find him again, I don’t think he’d ever want to spill the beans about what he knows. Or who he knows.
    Somehow, I find enough strength to push myself off the car and move towards him. I see him stiffen, turn even paler as I near him. With my right hand, I pull at the bottom of my hoodie and, with some difficulty, take it off to show my tank top and stub of an arm underneath.
    Dean, Jude, and even Carl inhale sharply.
    I’m afraid to look down, especially because of the attack I just had, but I know that my scar stands out stark red in the night air. I seem to be showing it off to everyone these days. Last I saw, it has traveled over my collar bone and is covering my upper torso. After the last attack, it’s gone farther, I can tell that much.
    I resist the urge to scratch at it.
    “I’m dying,” I tell Dean. In the corner of my eye, I see Jude frown unhappily at that statement. “And we need to find a new Progenitor either before I die or before Anthony finds the old man.”
    “Esther’s dead?”
    The question catches me off guard. I blink at him, trying to figure out how he knows about the Progenitor’s chosen replacement. “Y-yes.”
    “Anthony killed her?”
    I nod. “Just before she was going to take my blood to do the ritual. The one to crown a new Progenitor.”
    Dean sighs and combs a hand through his greasy hair. “Fuuuuck,” he whispers. Then, as if he lost enough willpower to stand, he crouches and puts his head in his hands. “No.” His voice is small. Terrified.
    I meet Jude’s eyes, and he shrugs, bewildered.
    “You knew Esther?” Jude asks.
    “I knew of her,” Dean says. “She’s the second-to-last of the Progenitor’s direct children.”
    “The second-to-last?” I echo, feeling the icy chill run through my veins.
    “She was the last vampire who could become the Progenitor. Other than Anthony.” Dean laughs mirthlessly at that. Like it’s all a big joke.
    No . I refuse to believe that. There has to be someone else. Fuck, there are plenty of vampires out there. More than one has to be a child of the Progenitor.
    I’m about to probe him for more when I hear an inhuman shriek. I turn my head just in time to see the flash of navy blue, almost black in the nighttime, running straight towards me. The shriek is in another language, although I barely have enough time to react let alone try to translate.
    I duck, as a flash of steel punches through the air above me, shattering the passenger’s window of the Accord. Bits of glass rain down on me as I whirl out of the way.
    It’s a girl with raven hair, a Japanese school girl outfit and katana, and almond shaped eyes. Seriously? This is like something out of Kill Bill or an anime.
    “Oh my God!” Dean shouts, terrified.
    So, I get the feeling they’re not with him.
    The girl snickers, then jumps and lands on top of the car, the roof buckling under the force of her landing. She takes a second to bare her fangs at me before she blurs into action again.
    So a vampire Japanese school girl is attacking me in the middle of the night in Houston. Makes more sense now.
    I dodge her frenzied attack, backing up and ducking. My right hand fumbles as I try to summon my magical sword Glimmer although my mind is too panicked at the possibility that I lost her with my left hand.
    I’m much slower when I’m weakened, and my balance is off due to my missing arm. I should easily evade her moves but…
    No, no, no, no.
    I stumble and the blade nicks my cheek as she swings her sword.
    I’m tugged out of the kiss of the katana again as Jude pulls me away from harm. His hands wrap around