ito. The first anyone ever heard of him, he came down from somewhere north of Dallas and massacred the two small covens that shared the area near Houston. Two nights later, he took on the much stronger clan of allies that claimed Monterrey in northern Mexico. Again, he won.

How did he win? I asked with wary curiosity.

Benito had created an army of newborn vampires. He was the first one to think of it, and, in the beginning, he was unstoppable. Very young vampires are volatile, wild, and almost impossible to control. One newborn can be reasoned with, taught to restrain himself, but ten, fifteen together are a nightmare. Theyll turn on each other as easily as on the enemy you point them at. Benito had to keep making more as they fought amongst themselves, and as the covens he decimated took more than half his force down before they lost.

You see, though newborns are dangerous, they are still possible to defeat if you know what youre doing. Theyre incredibly powerful physically, for the first year or so, and if theyre allowed to bring strength to bear they can crush an older vampire with ease. But they are slaves to their instincts, and thus predictable. Usually, they have no skill in fighting, only muscle and ferocity. And in this case, overwhelming numbers.

The vampires in southern Mexico realized what was coming for them, and they did the only thing they could think of to counteract Benito. They made armies of their own. . . .

All hell broke loose  and I mean that more literally than you can possibly imagine. We immortals have our histories, too, and this particular war will never be forgotten. Of course, it was not a good time to be human in Mexico, either.

I shuddered.

When the body count reached epidemic proportions  in fact, your histories blame a disease for the population slump  the Volturi finally stepped in. The entire guard came together and sought out every newborn in the bottom half of North America. Benito was entrenched in Puebla, building his army as quickly as he could in order to take on the prize  Mexico City. The Volturi started with him, and then moved on to the rest.

Anyone who was found with the newborns was executed immediately, and, since everyone was trying to protect themselves from Benito, Mexico was emptied of vampires for a time.

The Volturi were cleaning house for almost a year. This was another chapter of our history that will always be remembered, though there were very few witnesses left to speak of what it was like. I spoke to someone once who had, from a distance, watched what happened when they visited Culiacn.

Jasper shuddered. I realized that I had never before seen him either afraid or horrified. This was a first.

It was enough that the fever for conquest did not spread from the South. The rest of the world stayed sane. We owe the Volturi for our present way of life.

But when the Volturi went back to Italy, the survivors were quick to stake their claims in the South.

It didnt take long before covens began to dispute again. There was a lot of bad blood, if youll forgive the expression. Vendettas abounded. The idea of newborns was already there, and some were not able to resist. However, the Volturi had not been forgotten, and the southern covens were more careful this time. The newborns were selected from the human pool with more care, and given more training. They were used circumspectly, and the humans remained, for the most part, oblivious. Their creators gave the Volturi no reason to return.

The wars resumed, but on a smaller scale. Every now and then, someone would go too far, speculation would begin in the human newspapers, and the Volturi would return and clean out the city. But they let the others, the careful ones, continue. . . .

Jasper was staring off into space.

Thats how you were changed. My realization was a whisper.

Yes, he agreed. When I was human, I lived in Houston, Texas. I was almost seventeen years old when I joined the Confederate Army in 1861. I lied to the recruiters and told them I was twenty. I was tall enough to get away with it.

My military career was short-lived, but very promising. People always . . . liked me, listened to what I had to say. My father said it was charisma. Of course, now I know it was probably something more. But, whatever the reason, I was promoted quickly through the ranks, over older, more experienced men. The Confederate Army was new and scrambling to organize itself, so that provided opportunities, as well. By the first battle of Galveston  well, it was more of a skirmish, really  I was the youngest major in Texas, not even acknowledging my real age.

I was placed in charge of evacuating the women and children from the city when the Unions mortar boats reached the harbor. It took a day to prepare them, and then I left with the first column of civilians to convey them to Houston.

I remember that one night very clearly.

We reached the city after dark. I stayed only long enough to make sure the entire party was safely situated. As soon as that was done, I got myself a fresh horse, and I headed back to Galveston. There wasnt time to rest.

Just a mile outside the city, I found three women on foot. I assumed they were stragglers and dismounted at once to offer them my aid. But, when I could see their faces in the dim light of the moon, I was stunned into silence. They were, without question, the three most beautiful women I had ever seen.

They had such pale skin, I remember marveling at it. Even the little black-haired girl, whose features were clearly Mexican, was porcelain in the moonlight. They seemed young, all of them, still young enough to be called girls. I knew they were not lost members of our party. I would have remembered seeing these three.

Hes speechless, the tallest girl said in a lovely, delicate voice  it was like wind chimes. She had fair hair, and her skin was snow white.

The other was blonder still, her skin just as chalky. Her face was like an angels. She leaned toward me with half-closed eyes and inhaled deeply.

Mmm, she sighed. Lovely.

The small one, the tiny brunette, put her hand on the girls arm and spoke quickly. Her voice was too soft and musical to be sharp, but that seemed to be the way she intended it.

Concentrate, Nettie, she said.

Id always had a good sense of how people related to each other, and it was immediately clear that the brunette was somehow in charge of the others. If theyd been military, I would have said that she outranked them.

He looks right  young, strong, an officer. . . .  The brunette paused, and I tried unsuccessfully to speak. And theres something more . . . do you sense it? she asked the other two. Hes . . . compelling.

Oh, yes, Nettie quickly agreed, leaning toward me again.

Patience, the brunette cautioned her. I want to keep this one.

Nettie frowned; she seemed annoyed.

Youd better do it, Maria, the taller blonde spoke again. If hes important to you. I kill them twice as often as I keep them.

Yes, Ill do it, Maria agreed. I really do like this one. Take Nettie away, will you? I dont want to have to protect my back while Im trying to focus.

My hair was standing up on the back of my neck, though I didnt understand the meaning of anything the beautiful creatures were saying. My instincts told me that there was danger, that the angel had meant it when she spoke of killing, but my judgment overruled my instincts. I had not been taught to fear women, but to protect them.

Lets hunt, Nettie agreed enthusiastically, reaching for the tall girls hand. They wheeled  they were so graceful!  and sprinted toward the city. They seemed to almost take flight, they were so fast  their white dresses blew out behind them like wings. I blinked in amazement, and they were gone.

I turned to stare at Maria, who was watching me curiously.

Id never been superstitious in my life. Until that second, Id never believed in ghosts or any other such nonsense. Suddenly, I was unsure.

What is your name, s