Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of "Criminal Minds"-they belong to Jeff Davis and CBS.

CHAPTER TEN

The paint on the wall was starting to hurt my eyes.

I didn't remember coming home. All I could remember were Aura's eyes-the icy blue ones, not the gray ones-staring down at me. Then I was here. Shaking. Breathing, but barely. I curled one hand around my knees on the couch and continued to stare at the wall, trying to process precisely what had just happened.

And was coming up blank.

She'd saved my life. That much I'd figured out. From who-or what, that remained to be seen.

I started counting the digits of pi in my head. I needed something else to focus on. 3.1415-

A knock on the door. I jumped six feet out of my chair. The door opened by itself, and Aura came inside. Her sweatshirt and jeans were dirty, and her hair was slightly disheveled. She stood in the doorway, looking at me. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Am I okay…good question. I nodded…then I shook my head.

She bit her lip. "Yeah. Yeah, I figured as much." She sat down across from me, perching on the arm of the couch. "So…did you get anywhere with that missing little boy today?"

I blinked. How did she-

"It was on the news," she cut in. "We do get cable."

I should really say something. So I looked at her, and said, "What in the hell happened in Potomac Park?"

OK, I more shouted it, instead of said it, but I wasn't gonna apologize for it.

Her shoulders sagged and she looked down at my carpet. "I swear to God, Spencer, I didn't think anyone had followed me," she said unhappily. "I wouldn't put you in danger like that. I'm sorry."

"Danger." I said. More of a question than a statement.

She sighed. "One hundred and thirty-odd years…" she shook her head. "Screw it. Spencer, I'm a vampire."

I processed that. "Okay then." I could have understood it if I still had a concussion, if she was on PCP or LSD and that was how this little feathweight-looking woman could snap the neck of a WWE wrestler...but she'd just said she was a walking undead.

Her eyes shifted color, and her canine teeth got just a hair longer. My heart started beating twice the speed it should have at the sight of those icy blue eyes. "Yeah, I can tell you're okay," she said. Then her gray eyes returned and she frowned at me. She pointed to my bookshelf. "All those sci-fi novels, and you can't believe this? I asked you if you believed in real evil."

"You said 'What if I told you that real evil exists,'" I countered.

"You've met Brody," she said darkly. "Is that so hard to believe?"

I shook my head. "Not anymore," I conceded. As illogical as it sounded…somehow it all made sense. "That's why you're allergic to sunlight. That's why you're so cold to the touch. That's why we can't have a conversation until most of DC is asleep for the night."

You've just told us our UNSUB is Count Dracula…

She nodded. "Your profile the other day was right on," she admitted. "You're good at your job, Spencer."

I opened my mouth to object to her using my name. Only JJ was allowed to do that. But I realized…I sort of liked the way it sounded, coming from her. "So…Brody…"

Her gaze turned in to a glare. But not in a vampire-scary sense. More like an intense hatred. "He won't bother you anymore," she said quietly. "Or anyone else." She stood up and began pacing my living room. "God, you're a freakin' FBI agent, you're supposed to take care of yourself! But I've had to save your ass twice now! And then I-"

"Thanks," I said quietly. She stopped midsentence and glared at me. "You know. For that whole saving my life thing."

"I just hope it's worth it," Aura growled. "I guess…you're welcome."

"That night you brought me home after Brody-" for I was sure now that's who'd been behind me- "attacked me…you went through my files. And you were at the Shannon house."

"Merrick wanted to go for a run," Aura said with a soft smile. I must have looked confused, because she just sighed and shook her head. "There's so much to tell you."

"Do you know who our UNSUB is?"

She frowned. "UN-what?"

"UNSUB," I supplied. "Unidentified SUBject. Our kidnapper."

"Oh. No, I don't. But you've got a pretty small pool of applicants," she said. "In fact, I can name them all for you now. Not that it would do you any good, you won't find them in any database. Pretty sure none of them have social security numbers-those weren't big back in those days."

"What days?"

She grinned at me. "Pick an era, any era. We pretty much run the gamut."

"How old are you?"

"It's not polite to ask a lady her age."

"Yeah…you're not really a lady," I countered.

"Oooh. Low blow. Fine, then. I'm 138, last time I checked." She sat down again, on the couch cushion this time, next to my mismatched socks. She saw the socks. "What's with the socks?"

"Grandma told me to wear mismatched socks," I explained. "Only time I ever wore matching ones I twisted my ankle." I looked at her. There was a question I had to ask, and I wasn't sure if I was gonna like the answer.

"So, how do you….I mean…"

I laughed. He was cute when he was flustered. "Ever notice there's a smaller rat population around C street and Lexington?"

He blinked. "So you don't-"

"No."

"Ever?"

"Only when I'm getting interrogated by good-looking FBI agents."

His eyes went wide. I started laughing again. "Spencer, I'm jerking your chain. Truth be told…I've only ever fed off a human once." I frowned. "It was right after I was changed. I'm not proud of it. Zandra thought it would be fun to leave me in an alley with a homeless woman." I sighed. "I was brand new, I didn't know. The thirst was…" I shrugged. "Well, that's enough of those gory details."

"How many more are there out there? Like you, I mean."

I thought about it. "Counting me…in DC there are twenty of us."

He processed that. "I don't know if I was expecting more or less." Then he looked at me. "How many are in politics?"

I laughed. "None," I said with a smile. "We're smarter than that."

He leaned back against his couch. "So…tell me about them."

"About who?"

"Your…uh, family."

I cringed at the use of that word. If that was the case, we were the most dysfunctional family on the planet. "Oh. Well…the oldest are Carolina and Nikko. They met in Rome during the reign of Caesar. Some circles say Nikko was there when Brutus stabbed him in the back. Nikko's from Crete. The two of them enjoyed a few years in Europe, they changed Zandra and Rainne during the Black Plague. Nikko found them close to death."

"He saved them?"

I shook my head. "'Save' is not in Nikko's vocabulary unless he's saving his own ass. No, he and Carolina wanted a…bigger clan. Strength in numbers, and all that. They came over with the Pilgrims, the four of them."

I thought back. It was hard to remember all this history. "Okay…let's see. Then Carolina changed Bekah during the Revolutionary War. Not long after that, Bekah was in New York and found Rhean, dying of his battle wounds. It was love at first sight, and Bekah changed him there. The two of them are together." Or as together as two vampires can be, I thought inwardly.

"So…who 'changed' you?"

I shook my head. "It was during the Great Chicago Fire. Nikko and Carolina's whole clan was in the city. Zandra was taking advantage of the panic. She found me running for my life, drug me into an alleyway…" I shrugged. I do my best not to think about that night too much. "Zandra, though, she's a piece of work. She sired Dannick, Ewan and Alana. Out of all of us, she's probably the most…hungry. Eventually she met Tai, one of Nikko's. She got really jealous when Tai changed Jeneva. She's got a temper on a short fuse."

There really was a lot to remember. "Brody sired Aiden and Tanith. Rainne's were Cade and Kaiya. And then the two newest members of our little…family," I used his word, but it felt very unfamiliar to say it, "are Merrick and Lex."

"What about you?" he asked me. "Have you ever…sired anyone?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it, and the confused look on his face only made me laugh harder. "What?" he asked, mildly affronted.

"You make it sound as though it's like having an affair outside of marriage or using crack cocaine," I said. "But to answer your question…no. I've never sired anyone."

He looked at me. "Would you ever do it?"He sounded like a little kid having the sex talk with his dad.

Again, I laughed. "Sorry!" I apologized, noting I'd given him the same look again. Then I turned serious. "No. I wouldn't condemn anyone else to this life."

I think he could tell it wasn't a conversation I wanted to have. "So…out of your family…is anyone capable of murder?" Then he frowned. "I mean, apart from making more, um, family members."

I must have hit a nerve. "You met Brody," she repeated. "I'd say so."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"You don't want to know," Aura replied unhappily. "I am so screwed right now because of that whole fiasco it's not even funny. I shouldn't even be here right now. I should be on a train halfway across the country. On a cargo ship headed for the Turks and Caicos. Anywhere but here."

"A vampire took Abby Shannon," I said. "And killed Laurie Anderson." What about Kaylie. Or Keenan?

"One took Kaylie, too, but I don't know about that Keenan boy." Aura said. I hadn't mentioned either child's name. I frowned. "I didn't tell you about the mind reading," Aura apologized. "Sorry about that. I'm not trying to poke around in your head. Though I gotta admit…" she grinned. "It's kind of a fascinating place."

"No one's ever called it 'fascinating' before," I informed her. "What use would a vampire have for a child? Is there blood purer? Does it…do they…taste better?"

"Truth be told, vampire kids are kind of a pain in the ass," Aura said. "I've met a few. Hard to control. I mean, think of the most ADHD, smart mouthed, rebel child you can think of, and they're about a thousand times worse. Even harder to explain why little Tommy and Susie never get any older. Hell, Lex is 18, but he looks about 12." She shrugged. "I don't know why a vampire would want a child. It's a pretty rare occurrence, but when it does happen, it's mainly because they…yeah…they uh, taste better, I guess."

She stood up. "I should get back to the Hollow before someone noticed I'm gone. I need to think of a good story about Brody." She shivered. "If Nikko…"

"You killed him." It was a statement of fact. And proven by the fact that she didn't answer me. So wasn't I supposed to be arresting her right about now? Hauling her in for questioning?

"And exposed our entire world to an FBI profiler," Aura said. She gave a short bark of laughter. "Yep. Which, by the way, is punishable by a very painful death, in Nikko's eyes."

"Keep the secret," I said. "I won't tell anyone, I swear."

She looked at me. Her eyes stared into mine. For a second, I thought she was in my head again. "I know you won't."

"Will you help us on this case?"

I shook my head. "I can't. I've already done too much. I need to disappear." She stood up and took a few steps toward the door.

My feet pulled themselves off the couch and trailed after her. I said, "You're the only hope those kids have of coming home."

She turned to look at me, and I saw tears in her eyes. "I know," she said finally. "And I'll try to help." She looked at me seriously. "Stay safe, okay? I really, really don't want to have to save you anymore."

"You too," I replied, meaning it. "And next time you decide to show up at the BAU with a fake ID...call first."