I found Emily’s white sedan—the bullet holes down the side from our wild flight out of Mount Hood made it pretty clear it was her car—in the parking lot along with half-a-dozen others, but no one was around. I wondered why Jack was still driving it, but that was a question for later.

I could tell I was close to the amulet now, because the voice in my head had begun to calm down. Now I could hear it only if I stopped and concentrated. It made me half wonder if the new voice had been there the whole time since I’d become a vampire, but I didn’t have time to ponder it right now.

A man—a human wearing a black suit and tie with a transparent earpiece over one ear—stepped out from between two of the cars. I tackled him, burying my fangs in his neck before he managed to cry out. For a few moments he flailed against my admittedly light weight on his back, but then he began to relax, sinking slowly down to the pavement. I drank eagerly and deeply for a few moments before pulling away. I didn’t want to kill the guy, only incapacitate him. He sprawled on the pavement, still breathing, but eyes glazed and groaning.

Feeling much better, I stood and looked around the parking lot, trying to figure out where everyone was. Several paths led off from the parking lot, one heading west, one north, and one southwest. I could smell smoke and see a faint glimmer off through the trees to the north, so I headed that way. Rather than walk on the path and make myself a target, I walked parallel to it, using the trees’ shadows as coverage. I probably should have been stealthy earlier coming into the park, but the voice screaming in my head had made thinking hard.

A ring of tiki torches came into view ahead. A woman in a business suit stood inside the circle, her back to me. She was talking to someone that I couldn’t see, in a voice too low for me to make out the words from this distance. There were about a dozen people scattered around keeping watch, but they were only human, and I easily spotted them with my vampire night-vision.

I could smell blood in the air. Several of the human guards had visible bite marks and torn clothing. The bites looked like dog bites. Or maybe jackal bites, I realized through the fogginess of my thoughts. I hoped Jack had fought his way free from this trap and was now somewhere safe.

Moving slowly, I circled around to avoid the two guards watching the path. My new position also gave me a better angle into the circle, but what I saw made my heart sink. He hadn’t gotten away after all. Jack and Zoe were being held by two black-suited security guards each. Handcuffs around Jack’s and Zoe’s wrists glinted in the torchlight. Jack looked pissed, and only because I’d spent so much time with him over the last few days was I able to tell how scared he was.

Now that I could see the business-suited woman’s face, I recognized Lady Ann from Kevin’s memory.

Lady Ann lifted a bowl up above her head and began chanting in a guttural language that I didn’t recognize. Meanwhile, the two guards on Zoe forced her to her knees, and the two holding Jack dragged him backwards out of the circle. Jack yelled and fought them, but with his cuffed wrists— and bound legs too I saw now—they had him overpowered. When Jack planted his feet and refused to move, one guard grabbed Jack’s hands, the other his feet, and they carried him away—dangling between them like he weighed no more than his clothing—and dropped him outside the circle.

“Change,” I hissed under my breath. “Jack, change and run away.” Why didn’t Zoe or Jack change? I prayed they did something, anything. Keeping supernaturals secret from humans was important, but at some point you had to just say screw it and opt for self-preservation.

The amulet was close, I could feel it, but I didn’t see it anywhere. With this many guards about, and the threat that they too were armed with silver-laced bullets like Lady Ann’s thugs last night, I didn’t dare make a move until I was sure where my target was. As I’d learned last night, my speed only helped so much. I needed to get the amulet back before I could help Jack. Not that I didn’t care about Jack more than the amulet, but if the voice screamed at me again while I was running away with Jack—and I knew it would if I got farther away from the amulet again—I’d probably collapse and then we’d both be caught, which wouldn’t improve either of our situations.

Something on the ground at Lady Ann’s feet glinted in the firelight. I tensed, ready to run, before I registered that it was silver and not gold.

Lady Ann finished chanting while I scanned for a sign, any sign, of where the amulet might be. I saw the bag Jack’d been asking me to put the amulet in earlier discarded on the grass between the circle and the trees, but from the flatness of the folds it was clearly empty.

Where could the amulet be? Lady Ann’s sleek suit didn’t show any bulges, and probably didn’t even have any pockets anyway. I was unfortunately all too familiar with women’s clothing and its pockets or lack thereof.

Did one of the guards have it? I closed my eyes and turned my head, trying to judge direction, opening my eyes when it felt like it was directly in front of me, only to find myself staring right at Lady Ann. I snuck a few dozen more feet in the trees around the circle of torches, only for the same thing to happen again. So where was she keeping it?

Lady Ann’s chanting slowed to a stop. She lowered the bowl and knelt to place it in the dirt directly in front of the kneeling Zoe. The guards forced Zoe to lean over, head down over the bowl. Lady Ann reached to her side and picked up the glinting silver object I’d noticed earlier, revealing it to be a large knife. With her other hand she grabbed Zoe’s hair. Zoe fought and bucked, but with Lady Ann holding her head steady and the two men restraining her arms, she couldn’t move.

Lady Ann yelled another line in the same language as the chanting, and before I realized what was happening, ran the knife along Zoe’s throat. Blood poured out of the gaping slash on her neck into the gold bowl. It was so much blood.

I was both horrified by and drawn to the gush of red liquid. I covered my mouth, but my fangs were already down and pressing into my lips. If I hadn’t drunk from Stacy and the guard earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to keep myself from rushing forward. As it was, I struggled to not burst out of the brush and reveal myself.

Jack screamed wordlessly, fighting against the grips of the two men restraining him. Why didn’t he change and run?

Zoe twitched for what felt like too long. Finally she stopped moving and her eyes glazed over in death, although blood continued to drip from her throat for several long minutes. When it stopped, Lady Ann let go of her hair and the two guards dragged Zoe’s limp body back and dropped it on the dirt. She landed on her side, her dead eyes staring accusingly right at me still hidden in the trees. For a moment her face merged with Lindsay’s in my memory, even though aside from the dead eyes and the slashed throat, they looked nothing alike.

Lady Ann reached into the gold bowl, and when she pulled her hand back out, it was clean. Odd. That bowl had been catching all of Zoe’s blood; Lady Ann’s hand should have been coated in it. She stood and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, then pressed something against her chest, flattening it palm down.

“With this heart’s blood,” Lady Ann said in English, but in a ritualistic cadence and tone, “I invoke thee.”

She stood there for a long moment. The only sound came from the crackling of the flames in the tiki torches. She pulled her hand from her chest and looked down at her palm with a petulant frown. “That’s odd. I don’t feel any different.”

Her hand tilted, and I finally saw what she was holding: my amulet. The voice in my head crowed with delight, urging me to run and take what was mine. I shook with the effort of not moving. Even moving fast, I wouldn’t be able to take the amulet from her and protect Jack.

Jack sobbed. “Zoe. You killed her.”

Lady Ann’s head snapped up and she narrowed her eyes at Jack. “Perhaps it needs a male…” she muttered low. Then she raised her voice and pointed at the men holding Jack. “Bring him over here and let’s try this again.”

“Jack!” Before I realized what I was doing I burst from the trees, running with my vampire speed. “No!” I yelled as I dashed for Jack. I had eyes only for him, so the crack of a gun caught me by surprise. The force of the bullet smashing into my left leg sent me crashing to the ground, and I screamed in surprise as much as in pain.

The momentum sent me tumbling and rolling across the dirt for several feet before I came to a stop, clutching my leg. It burned like silver.

“Everett!” Jack yelled, lunging forward only to be caught by the guards.

“You!” Lady Ann growled, glaring at me. “What did you do to my amulet? It worked for you, so why not me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I gasped, clawing at my pant leg. I ripped it open to reveal a bullet hole in my upper thigh. Black lines were quickly spreading out from the wound.

“Goddamnit, Everett!” Jack yelled, struggling against the guards. “You were supposed to stay away, where it was safe!”

“I wasn’t about to let her hurt you!” I snarled back around my fangs. It was getting easier to talk with them. “Why didn’t you change and run?”

Lady Ann smirked. “He can’t. I know all about your little werecoyote friend, Everett.”

“Jackal,” Jack and I said at the same time.

“Whatever.” She waved a hand dismissively as she paraded across the dirt towards me, walking like she was strutting down a catwalk and not across a muddy clearing. When she reached the torches, she fingered some purple flowers that had been twined around all the poles. I hadn’t paid them any mind, thinking they were just decorations for the ritual. “Wolfsbane.”

“So?” I struggled to pay attention to her words. The pain in my leg was growing worse and I couldn’t get my fangs to retract.

Lady Ann put a hand on her hip and pivoted to regard the dead body of Zoe, and then glanced at Jack. “Prevents shapeshifters from changing. At least that was how the legends went. Glad to see more than one legend got things right.”

She turned and stalked over to me. When she got to me, she placed a foot on my bullet wound and ground her heel into it. I screamed at the pain, and lunged for her leg with my teeth. A wooden baseball bat cracked me across the cheek, jerking my head to the side. Someone grabbed me from behind and stuffed whole cloves of garlic in my mouth, followed by a thick leather strap which they tied behind my head.

The smell and taste of the garlic made me retch and choke, but the gag kept me from spitting them out. I reached up to claw the gag loose, but the same guard snapped a metal handcuff around my wrist and then locked my hands behind me. Then rough hands grabbed my elbows and pulled me to my feet. My injured leg wouldn’t hold my weight, and I would have collapsed except for the man behind me holding me upright.

“Hmm, the garlic one seems to have some merit too.” She sniffed. “Pity. I love Italian food. Ah, well.”

A guard smashed a balloon into the top of my head. It exploded, spraying water everywhere. Water cascaded down my hair and dripped from my nose. I shook my head to get the worst of it off me.

“Holy water has no apparent affect,” Lady Ann said. “Interesting. Well, I’d love to experiment on you all night, but we’re on a tight deadline. Take him into the circle. He’ll be the next sacrifice to the ancient one.”

“No, you promised!” Jack pleaded as the guard shoved me forward. My shot leg wouldn’t hold my weight, and I collapsed. I tried to catch myself, but with my hands bound I landed on my face in the dirt. I rolled to the side before the thug lifted me back up by one arm.

“What?” Lady Ann said, crossing her hands under her bosom.

“Everett’s life for the amulet,” Jack said, straightening to look her in the eye. “Let him go. I’ll be your willing sacrifice. Perhaps that is what went wrong with your first ritual.”

“Hmm…” She shifted and tapped a finger on her chin. “You might be right at that. And I did promise. Agreed then.”

“No!” I tried to yell around the gag and the garlic without success.

Jack shot me a pleading look. “Uncuff him first. Let him go, to prove your good faith.”

As if I would just leave Jack here to die. I shook my head, glaring right back at Jack on the other side of the circle.

Lady Ann shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. “I can tell by the look on his face that he’d not be inclined to leave well enough alone. Be confident that if your death completes the ritual that I will have gotten what I wanted and will be happy to let him go.”

“And if it fails?” Jack glanced at Zoe’s cooling body. “Again?”

Lady Ann shrugged. “Then I suppose you’ll get to be together in the afterlife. Let’s be clear here, I hold all the cards. At least one of you will die tonight, no matter what you do.”

“How many people are you willing to throw into the meat grinder over whatever it is you are trying to accomplish?” Jack stood tall and regal despite the guards holding his arms. I would have swooned over him if I weren’t choking on garlic with my leg screaming in agony. “What are you trying to accomplish here, anyway?”

“As many as it takes,” Lady Ann snapped back and glanced at the watch on her wrist. “I’m dying. Aggressive brain cancer. Inoperable. All my money and power can do nothing for me. Chemotherapy didn’t work. There is no cure. At least, none known to medicine. When modern science failed me, I turned my gaze elsewhere.” She paused and her eyes grew distant.

She held my amulet out and turned it over in her hand, admiring it. “Took me over six months to track this down after I became aware of it from one of my new friends, who said this amulet might have the cure I was searching for. The last recorded mention of it was from a Victorian archaeologist’s notes. However, it was stolen somewhere between the dig site and England. Lost to the black market. Imagine my surprise when my private investigator discovered it in the background of a picture taken right here in Portland in the 1910’s. The old fool hadn’t even known what he had. Neither did the museum he donated it to, which is where you came in.” Her face turned hard and she turned her head to glare at me. “You almost ruined everything.”

“You just want to become a vampire?” Jack shook his head, eyes wide.

“You think that’s what he is?” She gestured at me while turning back to Jack. “No, he’s something more. I don’t want to spend my life hiding in shadows, like these weak, modern things that call themselves vampires. If I’m going to live forever, I want to do it in power and style, like the old ones. This amulet is the key to bringing them back, to make things like they were in the ancient times, where monsters ruled and it was the humans cowering in their houses at night.” She glanced at her watch again. “I’ve said too much, and the night won’t last forever. Decide now. Nobly sacrifice yourself for your boyfriend, or watch him die. Your choice.”

Jack glanced at me again, and his mouth flattened out into a line. “Sacrifice. I’ll be your sacrifice.”

I wanted to scream, “Who’s being selfish now!” but with the gag and garlic, all that came out was a muffled cry.

“Excellent.” Lady Ann gestured. “You there, as a show of good faith, take off his leg restraints. Let him walk in under his own power, to prove his commitment.”

One of the guards pulled a set of keys from his pocket and knelt down to unlock the cuffs on Jack’s legs, while Lady Ann walked back into the circle and dropped my amulet back into the bowl. Of course, that was why Zoe’s blood had disappeared; the amulet had sucked it into itself. The voice in my head was ranting about the amulet, but it was getting easier to ignore it now that I could distinguish it from my own thoughts.

“Kneel in front of me,” Lady Ann ordered, laying the knife back into place at her feet and picking up the bowl.

I jerked and twisted, horrified as Jack walked forward and dropped down onto the grass in front of her. Lady Ann lifted the bowl above her head and began repeating the same chanting ritual she’d done before killing Zoe. Jack glanced at me with a resigned look.

I saw red. The voice whispered to me how to break the handcuffs and kill the guard on me. I gave in. I had to save Jack.

Listening to the voice’s whispered instructions, I broke the handcuffs with a quick twist of my wrists. The guard holding me up by my arms barely had time to give a gasp of disbelief before I tensed my legs and jumped up, snapping my head back into his face. He staggered backwards with a pained grunt, blood spraying from his broken nose.

I ripped the gag off with both hands, easily snapping the thick leather, and spat out garlic bulbs as soon as it tore free. I swallowed a few in my haste, making me feel a little sick, but I swallowed hard and kept moving.

Kill him, the voice whispered. I listened. I turned and pounced on the falling guard, teeth wrapping around his throat before he even hit the ground. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the other suited men drawing guns. I didn’t have much time.

Rather than sucking, I bit down hard and jerked my head up, ripping the entire front of the man’s throat out. Arterial blood geysered up from the wound, coating me from head to toe.

Spitting the chunk of meat out, I took a few gulps from the spray before using vampire speed to run at the nearest guard. The man was still lifting his gun to sight on me when I reached him. I smacked the gun to the side with one hand while backhanding his face with the other to expose his throat. Teeth bared, I lunged. I ripped and tore more than sucked, only getting a few mouthfuls of blood before the man crumpled, like a puppet with its strings cut.

A gunshot barked suddenly in the silence. Pain blossomed up my arm, and the impact whirled me around. It hurt, but distantly. The voice pushed me on. I caught my balance and then sprinted at the gunner, who widened her eyes, finger tightening on the trigger again. I reached her and smacked the gun away right before it went off. The bullet swung wide, hitting a tree and sending chips of bark flying. I grabbed the woman’s head and tackled her to the ground, using my momentum to twist her head sharply to the side as we fell together. The crack of the woman’s neck snapping was almost as loud as the gunshots had been.

Lady Ann continued chanting, though her face was twisted in a snarl and her voice turned harsh. She sped up the tempo of her chant. I had to hurry, but the three guards on the other side of the tiki torch circle had drawn their guns and were sighting on me. I had to take care of them before going after Lady Ann, or their silver-coated bullets would kill me before I’d be able to finish her.

I grabbed the dead woman and lifted her body in front of me like a shield as I got up. Three more gunshots boomed, and her lifeless body jerked as they hit. I ran around the circle at regular human speed, limping harshly on my injured leg. I was tiring.

Although I’d fed well off Stacy and the first guard I’d run into, I’d been shot twice now with silver bullets and had been heavily using my vampire speed. I licked the blood off my lips as I ran, but I needed more. Another bullet struck the dead woman, but I was close enough to the shooters now that it went through and hit me in the chest. I gasped. Even slowed down by going through her dead flesh first, it still hurt.

I threw her body at the gunners as I limped forward. Their ducking away to avoid it bought me a few precious seconds.

I sped back up to vampire speed, despite my fatigue. The nearest man lifted his gun to aim at my head. I grabbed a torch as I sped towards him, propping it under my arm like a lance. The tip hit the man’s chest just as he pulled the trigger. The shot went wide, but not wide enough, and the side of my head erupted in pain as the bullet grazed the side of my head. I dropped my makeshift lance and the impaled guard fell screaming to the ground, chest ablaze from the still-burning torch sticking from his chest. The oil had splattered over his clothes and the fire spread rapidly.

I ignored him, not slowing down as I continued around the circle. The next guard’s eyes were wide, and his arms and hands shook with panic as he aimed at me. His gun cracked, and the dirt to my left erupted. I ducked down under his outstretched arms and punched him in the throat. The guard dropped his gun and fell, clutching at his neck and gasping for air.

Another woman and man stepped out of the treeline, raising guns at me. Shit. I didn’t have time for this.

The cadence of Lady Ann’s chanting changed, and I risked a glance back to see her lowering the bowl. I’d have hoped that Jack would take advantage of my distraction to run since his legs were now unbound, but he was still calmly kneeling in front of her, his head held high and defiance in his eyes.

No time to take care of the new gunners; I had to get there before she slit his throat. I spun and ran back toward them, ignoring the newcomers. There was the crack of gunfire and a bullet struck my lower back. I was thrown forward, barely catching myself from falling face-first onto the grass. My legs refused to move.

There was a second shot, and Kevin screamed. “Everett, go! Run! I’ll hold them off.” His warning was followed by the rapid cracks of gunfire. I glanced over my shoulder to see the woman who’d entered the clearing with him dead at his feet, and Kevin gunning down another black-suited guard coming out of the woods. I didn’t know why he was helping me, but I’d take all the help I could get.

The pain blossoming up from the gunshot wound in my back was enough to drown out the voice. For a moment I was back fully, my thoughts my own. So thirsty. It hurt. My fangs ached.

Two meals were directly in front of me, one kneeling down with his back to me. I let out a wordless cry, crawling toward my helpless prey’s exposed back. The woman caught sight of me over the other’s shoulder and smirked, lifting a knife toward my prey’s neck. The man tipped his head back to expose his throat.

I didn’t know why, but this sent a shudder of fury through me. With a last burst of strength, I lunged forward and shoved the man aside as the woman slashed sideways with the knife. The blade caught me across the face, cutting deeply. Blood sprayed from my cheek, splattering the bowl.

Magic exploded out from the amulet with an earsplitting crack. The wave of power threw us all flying away in opposite directions. All the torches were ripped out of the ground with the force of the blast, and the nearest trees snapped in half with loud cracks.

I landed half on top of the man I’d shoved out of the way. My prey. Warm blood pulsed under me. So close, separated from me only by a thin layer of skin. I inhaled deeply, savoring the intoxicating scent of the man’s blood. The man’s cheek had been struck by flying debris, and a thin trickle of blood welled from the cut. I crawled up the man to lick at the blood, shuddering with pleasure as each drop hit my tongue. The meal under me was frozen in fear, his heart hammering widely under my palms.

The voice in my head urged me to drink deeply, to revitalize myself, but I resisted. I opened my mouth and rested my fangs lightly on the man’s neck. The pulse of the blood jumping against my lips was almost too much to bear. I wanted it, badly, yet was not sure why I held back.

A woman moaned behind me. I snapped my head up and around to focus on what had made the sound. Another meal was there. I could feel her warmth from here, and this one I didn’t have any qualms about eating. I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn’t move. I crawled toward her, growling low in my throat.

She opened her eyes as I reached her. She gasped and began crying, pushing herself back from me.

“No, no, don’t eat me!” she sobbed between shuddering tears. “I’ll give you anything you want. Money. Fame. Just spare me. Or, or,” Lady Ann pleaded, eyes glinting through her tears, “yes, turn me to be like you.”

Her words were meaningless. I grabbed her leg with my good hand, pulling her toward me. She screamed and twisted onto her belly to claw at the dirt, trying to get away, but she was only human. When she was close enough, I grabbed her hair and pulled her head to me, pushing her chin back to bury my mouth against her neck. I carefully pierced her artery with my fangs and sucked deeply, taking my time, making sure not to waste a single drop.

At first, she batted at my head with her fists, but after a few moments, she relaxed limply under me. I kept sucking until her heart stopped beating, and then lay there for a long moment, licking up the last few drops that welled out. When the blood stopped flowing, I pushed her away and looked around for the amulet.

It had been thrown by the blast, but I could feel it in my head when I concentrated, and it didn’t take me long to home in on it. I crawled toward it and snatched it up, petting it with reverence as I stared at it.

I don’t know how long I stared at it, but suddenly Stacy was there, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

“Everett?”

I blinked at her and hissed, clutching the amulet to my chest. “Mine!”

“Yes, yours,” Stacy said, giving me a motherly smile. “I won’t try to take it. Do you know where you are?”

I blinked, trying to order my thoughts. Now that I was holding the amulet again, the voice was silent and I could think. Slowly events slotted themselves in place in my mind. “Oh, god. I almost ate Jack.” My hands began to shake and I covered my mouth with my hands, pressing the amulet against my lips. It smelled of blood.

“But you didn’t.” Stacy gave me an encouraging smile. “He’s fine.”

I looked around finally, taking in what had changed. Stacy wasn’t the only vampire present. Ted was there, along with the rest from the house.

But Jack was gone, as was Zoe’s body.

“Jack?” I asked. “Where is he?” My voice raised in panic.

“He’s fine,” Stacy said reassuringly. “He’s getting medical attention back by the cars. He told us what happened. Now, do you feel coherent enough to come with me?”

I lowered my hands and hugged myself. I shook my head. “Hurts. Thirsty. Don’t want to…” I swallowed and shook my head harder. My whole body screamed in pain. My fangs and the back of my throat ached with thirst. “What happened? That blast?”

Stacy frowned. “We’re not sure. It seems our research on the amulet has suddenly become more urgent.” She gave me a hard look. “Would you like to be sedated?”

I gulped, and my grip on the amulet tightened. “Like what you did to me earlier? What if you take the amulet and I lose control again?”

“That’s a valid concern, Everett, but I assure you, until we figure out what it is, we won’t try to take the amulet from you again. That seemed to be the trigger, not the sedative.”

“You’re sure Jack’s okay?” I let out a breath and met Stacy’s eyes.

“I’m sure. Would you feel better if you talk to him on the phone?”

“No, I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear from me. I almost…” I shook my head again, holding back tears. “No sedation. I’m in control, but I can’t walk.”

“Jack told us. They were using silver bullets.” Stacy’s concerned frown dropped away and her eyes narrowed. “We need to find that rogue vampire sooner rather than later. First turning a mortal without permission, and now telling another human how to hurt us.”

“I’m not sure anyone told her,” I said slowly, opening my hand to look at the amulet. “I think she was figuring it out as she went along. Like the garlic she stuffed in my mouth. It didn’t hurt. I choked, sure, but—”

“Wait, garlic?” Stacy blinked at me in surprise, smoothing her skirt under her legs to kneel next to me. “Garlic doesn’t hurt vampires. That’s a myth. Actually, if you have humans rub garlic oil on their skin before you bite them, it gives the blood a pleasant taste.”

“I think she was testing the myths. She said as much about the wolfsbane. She was experimenting.”

“Odd.” Stacy tapped a finger on her lips, her eyes growing distant.

“She said something else strange. She said the amulet worked for me, but not for her. Maybe there is no rogue vampire. Do you think,” I held the amulet up between thumb and finger to show it to Stacy, “that this is what changed me?”

Stacy shook her head. “That would be unprecedented. And impossible, as far as I know.”

I sighed and slipped it in my pocket. I almost mentioned the voice I’d been hearing to her, but hesitated. I probably sounded unhinged enough, and was on thin ice after everything I’d done so far: killing another vampire, drinking from Stacy, and wrecking their hearse. Plus this whole mess in the park.

Stacy patted my leg. “We’ll figure it out later. In the meantime, we need to get you back to the house and get some blood in you.”

“Where is Everett? Is he okay?” Kevin’s voice wafted over to me, and I whipped my head around to look. The officer was being restrained by two vampires, who were dragging him away.

Ted came over to Stacy. “Sorry, ma’am. He slipped away from the guards.”

“No, bring him over,” I said. “He helped me earlier, I want to know why.”

Ted frowned and looked at Stacy, who shrugged. “Why not?” she said.

The vampires holding Kevin let him go. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees in front of me. He looked me over critically, and then surprising leaned over and hugged me. I blinked in surprise, then gritted my teeth and pushed him away, trying to keep myself from burying my fangs in the oh-so-tempting neck so close to my mouth.

“What is going on?” I asked, trying not to breathe too deeply of Kevin’s pleasant scent.

A smile tugged the corner of Stacy’s mouth. “Are those fang marks?” she asked as Kevin sat back, smiling amiably at me.

“Yeah, I might have bit him yesterday. Why?” I asked, still puzzled. “Jack said that vampire venom makes people drunk, like alcohol, but that doesn’t explain why he’s looking at me now like a lost puppy dog.”

“Vampire venom is also addictive. Hits some people harder than others.” Stacy patted the grinning Kevin’s leg. “Makes hunting easier when the prey wants to come back to you. Congratulations. You’ve got your first groupie.”

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Continue on to Chapter 22

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