 
# Dragon Pact

### Blood Dragon, Book 1

## Mac Flynn
Copyright © 2018 by Mac Flynn

All rights reserved.

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### Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Continue the adventure

Other series by Mac Flynn

# 1

A cold evening surrounded the high school campus. The air was filled with the scent of absence as the teachers and students were long removed from their day within the confines of the classrooms. Dark hallways were broken by the light of a graying janitor dutifully at work cleaning up the day's messes. He vacuumed up the dirt from countless feet and rolled his machine out into the hall.

A noise caught his attention. He looked up. All the doors were shut, but from down the hall he glimpsed a light beneath one of them. He exchanged his vacuum for a broom and crept down the hall. A noise reached his ears.

"Fail. Fail. Pass. Fail."

He slipped up to the hall and grasped the handle. A slow turn and the door opened a crack. He peeked inside.

The rows of empty chairs faced the white board. Close to the door was a large wood desk. Facing him was the hunched back of a small figure with long black hair.

"Pass. Fail," came the mantra from the figure.

He slipped inside and cleared his throat. The figure shrieked. Papers scattered and a red marker fell to the floor.

The frightened person spun around and revealed herself to be a woman of twenty-five with passable features and sharp brown eyes. Her eyes fell on the janitor and her shoulders slumped. She clutched her heart and glared at him. "Did you really have to do that, Mr. Usher?"

He leaned on his broom and grinned at her. "Sorry, Miss Rennelle. I didn't know it was you."

She nodded at the broom in his hand. "So you were going to clean the clocks of the intruder, is that it?"

He held up the broom in both hands in front of him. The wood handle was scratched and scuffed, and duct tape in two spots didn't improve its appearance. "You can bet your buttons. Me and Bessy here have been through a lot, and a little intruder isn't going to get the best of us."

Rennelle stooped and picked up the graded papers and the marker. "Then I should get out of your way and let you two go about protecting the school."

He shook his head. "You're no problem. We'll just clean up another spot."

She stood straight and smiled at him. "Work with me here, Usher. I'm trying to find a good excuse to leave this place before I finish the grading."

He chuckled. "I see. That's the way. Well, let's just get you swept out of here." He slid around her with his broom in hand and waved it at her. "Go on. Shoo. I need to get some cleaning done, and having you down here's just going to tempt me to do more talking than working."

Rennelle laughed and gathered her large bag that doubled as her purse. "I'm going! I'm going! Just watch those pieces of straw."

He lifted the broom and wrinkled his nose. "They don't make these things out of straw anymore. Sometimes I wish they did."

She slipped over to the door and looked over her shoulder at him. "The people of the world with hay fever are glad they don't. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, and be careful walking home, Miss Rennelle."

"I will, and good luck on the rooms."

"Thanks. I'll need it."

Rennelle slipped into the hall and glanced down at the hefty bag at her side. She sighed and trudged down the hall. "Wish I could sweep these things under a rug. . ."

She stepped outside into the cool night air. The streetlights lit up an empty parking lot. She jumped when the funeral march began to play. Her eyes narrowed and she dug into her bag until she found her cellphone. The screen was lit up with a familiar phone number.

Rennelle pressed the answer button and held it up to her ear. "Did you change your ringtone again?" she growled.

"Maybe," came the sweet female voice on the other end.

Rennelle rolled her eyes. "When did you even get a hold of my phone?"

"When you weren't looking."

The young woman shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What do you want, Jenny?"

"Can't a roommate find out when her friend is coming home? It's almost six, ya know."

Rennelle sighed. "I know, but I had a lot of papers to grade."

"You're way too kind, Sarah. You should just cover them all in red marker and hand them back saying a serial killer broke into your home and murdered all their papers."

Sarah strolled across the parking lot and onto the streets. "Was there a purpose in calling me other than to show me I need a new hiding spot for my phone?"

"Actually, I was going to offer to pick you up. It's kind of dark out there right now," Jenny pointed out.

Sarah crossed the street and into the residential area that surrounded the high school. "I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't gone this way a million times."

"Fine, but if you don't hurry I'm going to eat all the pizza." There was a pause and Sarah could just imagine her friend tapping her chin. "Though come to think of it that might be a good thing. The delivery boy did give me a strange look, so the pizza might be poisoned."

"Did you ask for something to be written on the box again?"

"Maybe."

"What's it say?"

"Something about worshiping Santa. I can't quite read the guy's handwriting."

"Yeah, that would be why the guy was giving you strange looks. Anyway, I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"You sure you don't want a ride? There's been some weird stories going around about gang fights."

"I'll be fine. I don't have anything to steal except fifty cents and a bunch of papers. They'll probably run at the sight of school work, anyway."

Jenny sighed. "I wish you weren't such a night owl. Why don't you just give up your wanderings and get a car?"

"You know why I don't like cars. Besides-" Sarah looked up at the sky filled with twinkling stars. A small smile parted her lips. "The view is great and I don't have to deal with traffic."

"All right, but I'm timing you. Thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes, and save a poisoned slice for me, will you?"

"Can't make any promises." _Click_.

Sarah sighed and shoved the phone back into her bag. "How did I end up with the weirdest roommate in the city?"

She strode down the streets to the center of the current block. To her right lay the well-lit, paved street. To her left was a graveled alleyway encased in darkness. The shadows of garbage cans and spare tires loomed out from against the tall wooden fences. The friendly lights from the houses didn't penetrate even the edges of the alley.

Sarah grasped her bag and took a deep breath before she stepped into the alley and toward her fate.

# 2

Sarah's shoes crunched on the sparse gravel that littered the alley. Potholes filled with water dotted the bleak landscape and forced her to twist and turn to dodge them. Her eyes flickered over every shadow and she jumped at every sound until she scowled.

"Come on, Sarah, there aren't any gangs around here," she scolded herself.

She paused in front of a bare wood fence some eight feet tall. Scrawled on the surface in black paint was a mark for one of the local gangs. Her shoulders slumped and she glanced up at the sky. "Really?"

Sarah shook her head and continued down the alley. The block was twice as long as most of the other residential areas because of the school bus garage that lay at the far end and on the left. A tall chain-link fence with plastic slats and topped with barbed wire protected the valuable vehicles.

The length of the block meant another alley ran perpendicular to the one through which she traveled. The point of connection was cornered by the open lot of the bus garage and three fenced yards. Old trees rose from the backyards and covered the area in a thick, quiet darkness.

As she approached the intersection Sarah found herself holding her bag tighter against herself. She dragged her feet as her eyes became captivated by the shadows that lay in the perpendicular alley.

A noise made her heart jump. She stopped a yard away from the intersection and leaned forward to look down the right-hand alley which was the source of the sound. Silent, still darkness met her gaze.

She sighed and clutched her wildly beating heart. "Easy there, girl. . ." she whispered.

Sarah straightened and marched forward. She'd already wasted enough time with bogey-men that Jenny was going to start worrying-

The chain-link fence to her left exploded outward as two figures crashed through it. They flew across the alley and slammed into the fence on the opposite side. Slats and barbed wire flew everywhere. Sarah covered her head with her bag as the shrapnel rained down on her. Dust swept over the area and created a thick haze.

A deep, guttural ground made her lower her bag and look up. Her heart stopped.

A man in a gray business suit had his back pinned to the wood fence. A streak of blood ran down his face as his wide eyes looked up at the shadow that covered him. The hulking figure that pinned the man was two feet taller than him and had two leathery wings that protruded from its back and lay folded against its body. The upper and lower bodies were that of a man clothed in the remnants of jeans and a white shirt. A long, thick, dragon-like tail protruded from its jeans and whipped back and forth and nearly hit the end of its black hair that was tied in a tail down its back. Its slitted eyes glowed a terrible yellow as it curled its lips back and snarled at him.

The man turned his face away and shut his eyes. Sweat poured down both sides of his face. "D-don't hurt me! Please don't-" The creature lifted one of its thick arms. There was a glint of claws before it brought its hand down on the man's neck.

The blow severed the man's head from his body. Blood splattered the fence and the man's suit. The head dropped to the ground and rolled a few feet away. The creature leaned back and opened its clawed hand. The headless body slid down the fence and slumped onto the ground.

Sarah's tremblings legs collapsed and she fell onto her knees. Her mouth was agape and her hands that clutched her bag trembled.

The creature stepped back as the dust settled. A soft tread of shoes came from the bus garage, and a moment later a young woman of twenty strode through the damaged fence and into the alley. Her long red hair cascaded down her back and swished from side-to-side as she walked. She wore a thin black trench coat with high black boots, a short black shirt and short mid-drift shirt.

The woman strode over to the hulking figure. The creature stepped aside and lowered its head as she passed. She stood over the headless body and folded her arms over her ample chest. Blood poured out of the stump and the face held a permanent shocked expression. The woman knelt down and pulled a vial from her coat. She dipped the vial into the puddle of blood beneath the head and put a stopper on the container before she stood.

A smirk accentuated the red lipstick on her lips as she looked down at the head. "You weren't much fun for my dragon. I guess your bloodline wasn't that great, after all."

She drew her foot back and gave the head a hard kick. The head shot forward and ricocheted off the fence. The head bounced onto the gravel and rolled to a stop in front of Sarah. Its wide open eyes stared up at her in terror. She screamed and scrambled backward until her back hit the chain-link fence. The remains of the fence rattled hard.

The woman swung around and glared at her. "So we had an audience. We can't have that." Her eyes flickered to her right where stood the creature.

It stomped toward Sarah and reached out its clawed hand to grab her. She pressed her back against the fence as her heart pounded in her chest. Sarah shut her eyes and silently prayed.

_Someone save me. Please._

"Behind you!"

The voice came from the alley in front of Sarah. A figure flew from the darkness. Their leg was outstretched and their foot connected with the heavy jaw of the creature. The creature's head snapped to the right and it crashed head-first into the hole in the fence.

The figure landed neatly on the ground and rushed over to Sarah. She saw it was a handsome man of thirty with short black hair and dark eyes. He was a head taller than her and looked down as he knelt in front of her. "Can you stand?" She nodded. He gave her a dazzling smile. "Good. Now we'll see if you can run."

He grabbed her hand and yanked her onto her feet. She barely had time to get her balance before he pulled her down the alley in the direction she came. His speed was incredible. Adrenaline pumped through her body, but even she could barely keep up with him.

"Get them!" the woman behind them screamed.

Sarah looked over her shoulder. The dragon creature pulled itself from the wire and stood. It threw back its head and gave a great, echoing roar.

The stranger turned back and grinned. "Looks like we made him mad."

The dragon stretched out its leathery wings and leapt into the air. The wings flapped and gave it flight as its shadow sailed over them. The creature slammed down ten feet in front of them and turned to face the pair. They skidded to a stop and the stranger moved to stand in front of Sarah as the dragon took a step toward them.

He backed up and pursed his lips. "Damn it. . ."

"Nice try, little boy," the woman cooed as she walked up behind them.

He half-turned to her and grinned. "It was, wasn't it? You wouldn't mind rewarding good efforts by letting us go, would you?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't let that happen. I can't have witnesses, and with that kind of speed I think you're quite useful to my needs. However-" she raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The dragon grabbed one of its scales from its chest and drew it out. The scale transformed into a long spear with an end as sharp as a knife. The creature pointed it at them. "I can promise you a quick, clean death. Think of that as your reward."

Sarah took a step backward and her heel bumped into a trashcan. The side knocked against the backs of her knees, throwing her off balance before it clattered to the ground. She stretched out her hand to catch herself as she fell backward. The man spun around and reached for her hand.

Sarah's eyes widen as the scale spear shoved itself out of the man's chest. His blood shot from the wound and splashed over her front. She fell into a pile of trash as the man took a step forward. He coughed and blood spurted onto the ground.

Behind him stood the dragon creature with both its hands on the lower part of the spear. It snarled and shoved the tip of the weapon into the ground, pinning the man. The man grabbed the spear with both hands, but they fell back and his head dropped forward. He didn't move.

The dragon wrenched its spear from the man and stepped back. His limp body dropped face-first onto the ground and lay still. A pool of blood expanded outward from beneath him.

Sarah stumbled to her feet and backed up until she pressed against the fence. She couldn't take her eyes off the limp figure slain by the spear. Warm tears coursed down her cheeks.

The woman sauntered up to the man and grinned at the corpse at her feet. "This is nothing personal. It's just business." She turned away from the man to Sarah and folded her arms across her chest. "Now it's your turn."

The dragon creature walked past the woman and over to Sarah. Its hulking form towered over her as she tilted her head back. Sarah looked with wide eyes as the dragon drew the spear back to stab her. For a moment time stood still. One thought played through her mind.

_It can't end here. Not like this_.

A shadow appeared behind the dragon creature and slammed a trashcan down on its head. The shadow pushed off from the front of the can like a game of leap-frog and threw the dragon off balance. The creature stumbled backward into the woman, and both toppled to the ground.

The formerly impaled man dropped to the ground in front of Sarah and grinned at the pair over his shoulder. "Nothing personal. I just don't like you." He turned to Sarah and grabbed her hand. "Now let's _really_ get out of here."

He pulled her down the alley in the direction she had been traveling. Sarah got a good look at his back. There was a large hole in his shirt where the spear had entered. Blood scabbed over his skin, but she could see hints of the large stab wound.

"We have to get you to a hospital!" she shouted.

A roar came behind them. The man grit his teeth. "Hold on!"

Sarah yelped as he pulled her forward with so much strength that her feet left the ground. He swept his arm beneath her legs and drew her against his firm chest. Without her trailing behind him his speed doubled. The world flew past them in a blur as her long hair whipped at her face. She clutched onto him and shut her eyes.

Sarah didn't know how long they ran, but he eventually slowed to a halt. He set her down feet-first and stumbled away from her. She steadied herself on her shaky legs and watched him slump his back against a nearby brick wall. He lay his palm on the front of his shirt where the spear had exited his chest. A large splash of blood covered his front, and some of that blood dripped through his hand and onto the ground.

Sarah inched toward him and pursed her lips as she glanced between his pale face and the red shirt. "A-are you okay?"

He raised his head and gave her a shaky grin. "I've. . .been better."

"I think you need a doctor."

He shook his head. "No police."

She glared at him as she fumbled through her bag and pulled out her phone in bag. The time on the screen showed her it was only ten minutes since she'd left the school. "We have to get you some help."

"No police."

She dialed the emergency number and pressed the phone to her ear. "Police? I've got an injured man at-" She looked around them and frowned.

They were in an alley near its mouth, but not the same alley as before. Gone were the homes around the school. In their places were tall, brick apartment buildings crowded together like rows of dominoes. The stoops and alleyways were filled with trash, and the streetlights flickered on and off like worn-down fireflies. A few beat-up cars littered the street, and in the distance a police car blared its siren.

Sarah's mouth dropped open and she returned her gaze to the man. "We're in the Muzzle District!"

"I hope you don't mind."

"Hello?" came the dispatcher's voice. "Is anyone there? Ma'am?"

Sarah shook her head. "But that's. . .that's impossible! That's five miles away from the school!"

He nodded at the phone in her hand. "That's why you need to put that away. I can explain it to you, but not to them."

Sarah pursed her lips. The dispatcher's voice crackled over her phone again. "Ma'am? Are you okay?"

Her gaze never left him as she raised the phone to her ear. "I'm. . .I'm sorry. The guy's fine. It was just a prank he pulled on me. Sorry to bother you." She pressed the end-call button and lowered the phone.

He leaned his head back against the brick wall and gave her a weak smile. "Thanks. I never liked hospitals much, anyway." A cough wracked his body. More blood spilled from his mouth.

Sarah knelt down in front of him and looked him over. "If you don't want a doctor, then what do you need?"

He closed his eyes and his voice faded. "Just. . .just get me somewhere safe. I'll be. . .good there. . ."

Sarah sighed and shook her head as she climbed to her feet. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but-" she pressed the first number on her speed dial and turned away from the man.

"You're too late. The pizza's all gone," came her friend's voice.

Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the man soaked in blood. "I've lost my appetite, and I need a ride."

There was a short pause followed by her friend's tense voice. "What happened?"

"You're not going to believe me without seeing it for yourself. Just get down here. I'm near-" she strode forward out into the road and squinted at the nearest road sign, "-Mediterranean Avenue."

"How the heck did you get all the way down there?"

"It's a long story, just get here."

"I'm on my way!"

The phone clicked in her ear. Sarah half-turned to look at the strange man. His head leaned to one side his face was still strained. Even covered in blood, though, he was still handsome.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

# 3

The dark study was extravagant, but not gaudy. Tall oak bookshelves stretched to a foot short of the ceiling, and atop their majestic wood sat busts of famous orators and statesman, some of whom occupied both those distinctions.

A wide window some ten feet tall encompassed half of the exterior wall. The glass was separated into several panes, and some of them opened like doors onto a luscious lawn. A cool night breeze swept through the windows and into the room, stirring a few loose papers on a large oak desk.

Behind the desk sat a man of thirty-five. His hair was as dark as the night behind him and his skin was pale. He was dressed in dark semi-formal attire that allowed him to blend in with the black leather of the high-backed chair.

The man was seated in one corner of the large chair. One of his cheeks leaned against the back of his hand and his eyes were closed. He didn't stir, not even his chest in the customary movement of necessary breathing.

There was a knock on one of a pair of doors that led into the study. The man's eyes opened to reveal their blood-red color. "Enter."

The door opened and in stepped the beautiful young woman who had proven so deadly toward Sarah and the stranger. Behind her was a man a head taller than her and clothed in a simple overcoat. The front of the coat was opened and revealed his torn pants and shirtless chest.

She strode over to the desk and drew out the vial full of the murdered man's blood which she placed in front of the dark man. "There's another one for you."

He looked past her at the open door. "Your manners are as lacking as ever, Andrea."

The woman jumped when the door slammed shut and spun around to find no one near it. She turned back to the man and glared at him. "You could've just asked me to shut it."

The man leaned forward and plucked the vial from the desk. He fell back against the chair and held the container up to his face where he swished around the blood in slow, even motions. The color of the blood reflected those of his eyes as he watched the liquid swirl around. "You had problems fetching the blood."

Andrea shrugged. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

His eyes flickered to her and he lowered the vial to his lap. "And yet you didn't."

She frowned. "Says who?"

He looked past her at her companion. "You should learn to read your dragon's emotions more clearly."

She glanced over her shoulder and sneered at him. "It's only business between us, that's it."

"Your 'business' has made him quite angry," the man commented as he tucked the vial into his shirt. "He craves the blood of one who has wronged him."

The young woman turned back to the dark man. "We might have let two people get away, but it's no big deal."

The man arched an eyebrow. "Two people? That is quite a nuisance. Were they humans?"

Andrea bit her lower lip and shifted her weight from one foot to another. "One of them was."

His eyebrows crashed down and his eyes flashed with a dark color. "You allowed a vampire to escape."

She straightened and waved her hand in front of her. "He probably wasn't worth it, anyway and besides, my dragon took care of him. I wouldn't be surprised if he turned into dust an hour ago."

The dark man swiveled his chair around and looked out on the clear night sky that lay beyond the windows. "You may go, but understand that I haven't forgotten your failure. Another will dissolve our contract." He turned his head to one side and his one eye looked at her without wavering. "You understand what that means, don't you?"

She pursed her lips, but nodded. "Yeah, I know what it means."

The man faced forward toward the windows against. "Good. Until next time." Andrea flipped him off and spun around. "Oh, and Andrea?" She paused and glanced over her shoulder. He raised the vial to the light of the windows and swished around the contents. "Try to be swifter in their destruction. A soul dying in terror is nearly as worthless as no soul at all."

Andrea narrowed her eyes and continued to the entrance. She flung open the door and marched out into a carpeted hall with wood paneling. Her companion followed her and shut the door behind them.

She stomped down the hall with her hands balled into fists at her side. "Damn him and his stupid contract," she growled as she reached a large entrance hall. "He should just mind his own business and I'll mind mine."

"Your business will fail if you make your customer unhappy," a voice chimed in.

Andrea stopped and whipped her head to her right. A young man of twenty leaned against the wall. He was tall and thin, and wore an overcoat that was as white as snow. His short hair was dyed with a dozen colors that merged together to create a rainbow.

She glared at him. "Mind your own business, Maurice."

He clucked his tongue and shook his head as he pushed off from the wall. "The same old mantra, Andrea? All you ever talk about is work. Don't you ever want to have fun?"

Andrea sneered at him. "I'd rather just get the job done and move on."

She strode forward, but Maurice slid in front of her, blocking her path to the front doors. "Don't be like this, Andrea. We could have such fun together."

Maurice stretched out his hand toward her. The man in the overcoat swept around Andrea and grabbed his wrist. He raised his gaze to Maurice and glared at him with yellow eyes. His eyes widened and he stiffened his body.

Behind the overcoat-covered man stood a small girl of fifteen. She wore a simple pair of jeans with a tie-dye shirt. Her long brown hair was pulled behind her in a tail that ran down her back.

One of her hands was pressed into the man's back. Her long fingers ended in sharpened talons like those of the dragon man she held behind her sharp talon-knives.

Maurice looked past the dragon man and grinned at Andrea. "You really need to watch your pet, Andrea. He might get in my way enough times that my pet and I will start playing for keeps." He nodded his head at the young girl. She withdrew her hand and stepped back.

"Get back here," Andrea snapped at her dragon. The man slipped beside her, but his narrowed eyes were kept on the young girl who sidled up beside Maurice.

Maurice swept his arm over his chest and bowed to her. "It's been fun, Andrea, but if you'll excuse me, I have some business with our shared client myself. See you later." He strode past her with the girl at his side and both disappeared down the hall.

Andrea pursed her lips and continued forward with her dragon man behind her. "This almost isn't worth the trouble. . ."

# 4

Sarah stood at the mouth of the alley and looked up and down the street. The familiar headlights of Jenny's ancient sedan soon rounded a corner. The car crept down the street with the windows open and Jenny looking left and right.

Sarah stepped onto the sidewalk and waved her hand. Jenny steered the off-white junker to the crumbling curb and leapt out. She ran around the car and her short brown hair bobbed around her round face as she engulfed Sarah in a tight hug.

"Air," Sarah gasped.

Jenny pulled them apart to arm's length and looked her friend over. "Did you lose the drug traffickers? Did they try to make you their sex slave?"

Sarah pursed her lips. "If only it was that simple."

Jenny blinked at her. "Seriously?"

Sarah grabbed her friend's hand and lead her into the alley. She stopped them in front of the unconscious man and gestured to him. "Seriously."

Her friend leaned forward and squinted at the man. "Who's he?"

"A guy that just saved me from a dragon attack."

Jenny whipped her head up to look at her friend. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Look at his wound."

Jenny knelt down and tilted her head left and right to study what she could with his hand over the hole. She poked at the wound.

"Jenny!" Sarah scolded her.

The man grimaced, but didn't awaken. Jenny looked over her shoulder at Sarah. "This man doesn't need a doctor, he needs the morgue."

Sarah pursed her lips as her gaze fell on the stranger. "That's what I thought until I realized he carried me five miles in two minutes."

Jenny stood and whistled. "Seriously?"

Sarah glared at her friend. "If you say that one more time I'm going to kill you."

"Point taken. So what do we do with him? Take him to a hospital or get him outfitted for a coffin?"

"Neither. We're taking him home."

Jenny started back. "Serio-" Sarah glared at her. "Really? Why not a nice hospital bed?"

Sarah strode past her friend and knelt beside the man. She studied his strained features and pursed her lips. "Because he asked me not to."

"I'd hate to be the voice of reason, but you're just going to go with that?" Jenny asked her. She gestured at him. "I mean, the guy's covered in blood, he carried you faster than ten Olympic long-distance runners, and-"

"He saved me," Sarah finished. She brushed a loose strand of his short black hair out of his face. "The least I can do is take him somewhere safe, at least for a little while." She looked over her shoulder at her friend. "But I need your help to do it."

Jenny studied Sarah's face for a moment before she sighed. "All right, but let me throw down a blanket first. That back seat's already got enough stains to be considered Modern Art."

Together the pair of them carried the man to the car and hefted him into the back seat head-first. Sarah went around the rear driver-side door and helped pull him onto the blanket.

"Your. . .boyfriend's really. . .heavy," Jenny grunted as they slid him inside.

Sarah glared at her friend across the length of the car. "He's not my boyfriend."

Jenny grinned as she grabbed a hold of the car door. "I saw the way you were looking at him."

"He's not-" Jenny slammed the car door.

"I can't hear you," Jenny called over the roof of the car. "You'll have to speak your denials louder."

Sarah joined her friend on the sidewalk and shook her head. "I'm not saying anything because you'll just twist my words."

Jenny smiled and nodded. "Like a pretzel, now let's get going. The trash around here is starting to look at us funny."

On the way to their apartment Sarah told her harrowing tale of adventure. She had just concluded when they parked in front of their apartment building.

Jenny pulled the key from the ignition and looked over at her friend with a shake of her head. "I've told some tall tales in my life, but that beats mine by a skyscraper."

"That's the way it happened," Sarah insisted as she glanced over her shoulder. The stranger lay very still on the blanket-covered back seat. She nodded at him. "He's living proof."

"Not for long if he keeps bleeding," Jenny pointed out.

Sarah glared at her. "Just help me get inside without anybody seeing him."

Her friend snorted and opened her door. "Yeah. I'd hate to have a replay of Weekend At Bernie's."

The pair got out and pulled the stranger from the rear seat. Both of them looped their arms under one of his and together they pulled him up the broken stoop and to the old double doors. Jenny unlocked the door while Sarah held the stranger in her arms.

She looked down into his scrunched up face. His breathing was harsh and his body stiff.

"How's sleeping beauty doing?" Jenny asked as she swung open the door and returned to her place at the man's side.

Sarah pursed her lips and shook her head. "I don't know. Let's get him upstairs."

They hefted him through the doors and into the simple lobby. The old building was without an elevator, so they dragged his feet up the steps to their second-floor apartment. The pair turned right at the landing and pulled him down the hall carpeted hall to their room that lay second from the last.

A door on their left opened and an elderly woman in a floral nightgown stuck her head out. She was bespectacled, but the eyes that lay behind the glasses were still sharp as they observed the pair. "What are you two doing making all that racket?"

The women froze and glanced at each other. Jenny slapped a smile on her face and whipped her head back to the elderly woman. "We're just taking Sarah's boyfriend to our apartment, Mrs. Ardelio."

The old woman's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with him? Looks like blood on his shirt."

"He had a lot of wine and it kind of spilled everywhere," Jenny explained.

Ardelio turned her pointed nose up at them and their load. "When I was your age-"

"We'd love to hear about your days in the Roman army, but we really have to get Sarah's boyfriend sobered up for his tap-dancing lesson tomorrow," Jenny insisted as she dragged the man and Sarah down the hall.

Sarah glared across the man at her friend. "He's not my boyfriend."

Jenny grinned. "You're starting to sound like your students. Want me to get his phone number for you when he wakes up?"

Sarah was glad when they slipped into their small two-bedroom apartment. To their left was the combo kitchen-dining room, and straight ahead lay the living room. On the left and at the back of the living room near the exterior wall was a narrow hall that led to the bathroom and bedrooms.

Jenny nodded at a couple of potted plants that sat opposite them against a large window that served as access to the fire escape. "So do we put him on the couch or make room in the dirt?"

"He can stay in my room."

A sly smile slid onto Jenny's lips as they hefted him toward the hall. "Do mine ears deceive me or are you finally going to get a guy in your room?"

"You haven't."

"Touche."

They dragged him through the right-hand door in the hall that led into Sarah's bedroom. It was a spartan space with a bed, nightstand, and a long, built-in closet to their right. A blanket was lain on the bed and then the man on his back.

Jenny stumbled back and wiped her sweaty brow. "He's heavier than he looks, isn't he?"

Sarah sat down beside the stranger and slipped one of her pillows beneath his head. He winced and clutched his stomach. His eyes fluttered open and fell on Sarah. A small, shaky smile slipped onto his lips. "Hey."

"Hey," she replied.

He looked around at the room. "This has got to be the nicest alley I've ever seen."

"It's my bedroom," Sarah explained.

Jenny grasped Sarah's shoulders and leaned over her toward the man. "And I'm Sarah's apartment buddy! Adopt me as your friend and collect the whole would-be-rescuers set!"

Sarah shoved her friend's face back. "How about you go get some bandages and gauze?"

"But we don't have any of that stuff here."

"Exactly."

Jenny's eyes widened. "Ooh." She gave a wink. "I get it, but don't be too rough on him. He's had a near-death experience and-"

"Just get it," Sarah commanded her.

Jenny stood erect and saluted her friend. "Yes, ma'am. Right away, ma'am! Be back in a few minutes, ma'am!" She flew from the room and shut the door behind herself.

Sarah returned her attention to the injured man. The blood on his chest had dried to a dark red color. She pursed her lips and looked into his face. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. Just give me a shower and some new clothes, and I'll be fine in a day or two."

She looked him up and down and noted his shaking hand and limp legs. "You're going to have to wait on that shower. I don't think you can get into ours by yourself."

"That's why you're going to help me."

Her eyes widened. "Say what?"

"You can help me wash this mess off."

She held up her hands in front of her and shook her head. "I-I couldn't."

He grinned. "Why not? You swing that way, don't you?"

A heavy blush accented her cheeks as she sputtered her words. "Y-yes, but that's-well, that's not what I meant!"

He chuckled. "It's because you don't know my name, right? It's Adam."

She balled her hands into fists at her sides and glared at him. "That doesn't help what you're asking me to do!"

Jenny peeked her head in the doorway. Draped over one arm was her purse. "Are you two having a lover's quarrel already?"

Sarah whipped her head around and shot her look of fury at her friend. "Out! Now!"

Jenny waved. "Bye!" She ducked out of the room and shut the door behind her. Sarah was relieved when she heard the front door open and close.

She returned her attention to the man. His unblinking gaze lay on her neck. She looked down at herself, but other than the blood splatters she saw nothing the matter. "What? What is it?"

The man shut his eyes and turned his face away from her. He grit his teeth as his hands clenched the bed covers. When he spoke his voice was thick and husky. "Get out."

She frowned at him. "Get out? This is my bedroom and you're in no condition-"

"Just get out!" he snapped.

She reached out to grab his shoulder. "Listen, whatever's wrong I'm not-"

His movements were too fast for her to follow. One moment she was seated beside his prone body, the next she herself lay on her back on the bed. The man's hands were on either side of her head and the rest of him hovered over her. His teeth were clenched together, and she could see his canines were far longer than was normal. His chest heaved up and down as he took deep, gasping breaths. His blood-red eyes stared hard and unblinking at her throat.

Her pulse quickened. "What are you-ah!" He leaned down and pressed his warm lips to her throat.

A thrill of hot pleasure ran down her body. She gasped as one of his hands slid down her body and stopped at her breast. His fingers teased the cloth that lay over her feminine mound, toying with her rising lust. He pushed his leg between hers and parted them so his knee pressed against her inner thighs. She was wet already, and the ache inside her made her squirm beneath him.

He slid his rough tongue across her smooth neck. She grasped the ruins of his shirt and closed her eyes. His hot breath tingled her throat as his deep voice, drenched in carnal desire, spoke into her ear. "So sweet." He buried his face into a thick batch of her hair and deeply inhaled. "So deliciously sweet."

The heat inside her was like a flame that penetrated her body and soul. She couldn't get enough of it. Enough of _him_. She leaned her head to one side so he could deepen his kisses. His teeth nibbled at the smooth flesh of her throat. Their sharp points nearly broke the skin. She shivered and her hands trembled as they gripped his shirt. She rubbed her hot core against his leg and gasped as a thrill of pleasure ran up her body.

"Adam," she groaned.

He froze. She opened her eyes and looked up into his face him. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth were clenched so hard his gums were white. He wrenched himself from her grasp and moved over to sit at the far side of the bed.

His back was to her and he clutched his head in his hands. His voice was soft as a spring breeze, but cold like winter. "Go."

She sat up and frowned. Her clothes were disheveled and her cheeks were a bright red from her unsatiated desire. "But-"

"Just go."

Sarah pursed her lips, but slid off the bed and over to the door. She opened it, but paused and looked back. He sat as still as a statue. Her shoulders slumped, and she turned away and shut the door behind herself.

# 5

Sarah stood in front of the bathroom mirror and stared at her reflection. She looked like hell. Her clothes were covered in blood and her hair was matted with it. Alley mud and dried sweat finished off her derelict description.

None of that caught her attention. She raised her hand and pressed her palm against the smooth, unbroken skin of her neck. She could still feel the heat of his breath on her flesh.

Sarah ran her hand through her matted hair and shook her head. "What the hell were you thinking? You don't even know his name."

_Adam_.

She sighed. "Okay, so you know his name, but that's it."

_He saved your life_.

Sarah glared at her reflection. "Do you really have to be such a bitch to yourself?"

_Yes_.

Sarah spun around and leaned her rear against the counter. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "What the hell is up with him, anyway? First he's dying, then he's not, then he's dying again and then he wants to make out." She pressed her hand against her throat again and bit her lower lip as she stared at the floor. "And why'd he have to stop?"

The front door opened and shut. "I'm back!" Jenny called.

Sarah shook her head and walked out of the bathroom to the living room. Jenny was at the dining table where she tipped the mouth of a paper bag down and spilled a jumble of medical supplies onto the top. She swept her hand over the articles and grinned as Sarah came up to her. "I've got enough wrapping to mummify twenty pharaohs and enough peroxide bottles to make them feel it in the afterlife."

Sarah picked up a bottle of cheap vodka and held it out to her friend. "And this?"

Jenny shrugged. "Cheap pain reliever. I can't afford to spend that much on your boyfriend." Sarah pursed her lips and rifled through the rest of the supplies. Jenny leaned over and waved her hand in front of her face. "You okay? You seem kind of out of it."

Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore."

Her friend leaned over and sniffed her. She jerked back and waved her hand in front of her face. "What I know is my nose is telling me you need a shower. You smell worse than an alley cat after a long day of dumpster diving."

Sarah sniffed herself and frowned. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Jenny agreed as she spun her friend around and pushed her toward the bedroom occupied by their guest. "Now how about you get a chance of clothes and I'll get that hot water running."

Sarah was released at her bedroom. She grasped the knob, but paused. Jenny took a few steps past her before she stopped and half-turned to her hesitant friend. "What's the matter?"

Sarah dropped her hand from the knob and sighed. "Could I borrow some of your clothes? I think we need to leave him alone for a while."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "You sure that's a good idea? He's got two feet and an arm in the grave, and we haven't even mummified him yet."

Sarah turned to her friend and nodded. "Yeah, I'm definitely sure."

Jenny leaned toward her friend and narrowed her eyes. "Did you two break up already?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "We're not a couple, okay?"

Her friend studied her for a moment longer before she leaned back and shrugged. "All right, you can borrow some clothes. I've got a great clown costume from last Halloween that might fit you."

Sarah frowned. "Jenny."

Her friend held up her hands. "Okay, okay, no clown costumes." Her eyes glided down to Sarah's chest. "So what about that vampire costume I wore two years ago? You'd probably fill it out better than-" Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her. Jenny sighed and took her friend's hand. "All right, we'll find you a nice, normal outfit. With elf shoes."

"Jenny."

"You're so boring."

Sarah was attired in a long red nightshirt that reached to mid-hip. She pulled at the shirt and glared at Jenny who lay stomach-down on her own bed. She wore a two-piece gray pajama set. "You're sure you don't have something else?"

Jenny grinned and shook her head. "Nope."

"What about what you're wearing?"

"You would deprive me of my own pj's?" She lifted her legs and wiggled her feet that were clad in slippers with bunny heads on the toes. "Besides, they match my bunny slippers."

Sarah plopped herself on the floor beside the bed and rolled her eyes. "How did I ever get stuck with you?"

Jenny stretched over the side of the bed and looked at her upside down. "Fate is a funny thing."

"Cruel, if you ask me."

Jenny wagged her eyebrows. "You could show off your new look to your boyfriend."

Sarah frowned and pushed her friend's face away from hers. "He's not my boyfriend."

"One look at you in that shirt and I bet he'd change that."

"You're impossible."

"And adorable."

Sarah sighed and crawled over to her makeshift bed. It was a bunch of blankets atop cushions swiped from the couch. She lay down and stretched a blanket over herself. Her body ached from the night's adventures.

Jenny stepped over her and stood beside the light switch near the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight. . ." Sarah mumbled as the light was switched off.

Jenny stumbled over her and onto the bed. There was a few moments of shifting as the girls made themselves comfortable, then all was quiet. For a few seconds.

"Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"You think he could be my boyfriend?"

"I don't think he's your type."

"Jealous?"

Sarah rolled over away from her friend and closed her eyes. "He's. . .not. . .my boyfriend. . ."

Her voice drifted off with her mind, and soon she was fast asleep. Jenny stared at the mound that was her friend for a long time before she sighed and shook her head. "I can't be here for you forever, Sar. You're going to have to find someone, and soon." She rolled over and all was quiet.

# 6

The door to Sarah's room creaked open. Sarah peeked her head inside. The early morning sun streamed in through the opposite window and gave her a full view of her guest. He lay on his back in the center of the bed with his head on one of the pillows. His arms were clasped together on his chest and his eyes were closed. Other than the indent of his body, none of the sheets beneath him were disturbed.

Sarah crept into the room and tiptoed over to the closet. She cringed when the door squeaked when it opened.

"That's a nice look for you."

Sarah spun around to find the man's eyes open and a teasing smile on his lips. She pulled on the lower hem of the short nightshirt and glared at him. "I'm just borrowing it."

His eyes swept up and down her. "Dang. I think you look good in it."

A slight blush accented her cheeks. She spun around and leapt into the closet, shutting the door most of the way behind her. The quarters were cramped, but she made out one of her sets of work clothes. In a thrice the pajamas lay on the floor at her feet and she was ready for work.

She stepped out and found the man was in a seated position propped up by the pillows. His dark eyes lay on the window with its bright sunshine.

She walked over to the side of the bed and looked him up and down. The blood flaked off his torn shirt and allowed her to see the round wound in his chest. The edges were frayed and she could see a half inch into his body. The rest of the hole was filled with dried blood and flesh.

The man slid his hand over the wound and smiled up at her. "It's better than it looks."

She winced and looked up into his face. His eyes now lay on her and studied her with the same intensity as she had him. "Are you sure you don't want a doctor? That could get infected."

He shook his head. "I'm fine. What about you?"

She shrugged and winced when her shoulders complained. "A little sore, but that's it. Is there anything I can get for you? Some food or something to drink?"

His smiled faltered and his eyes flickered down to her neck before he turned his face away. "I'm fine."

She sighed and pursed her lips as she stared at the blankets around him. "I. . .I didn't thank you for saving me last night."

He studied her with a soft gaze. "Don't blame yourself for me getting hurt."

"But it was my fault. I should have run away when those. . .those things crashed through that fence," she insisted.

He shook his head. "Not you. You've got too much courage to run away from a problem."

She raised her head and frowned at him. "You say that like you know me."

He chuckled. "You handled yourself pretty well back there. A lot of other women would have fainted and just been dead weight, but you were pretty nice to carry around." He shifted and winced. "I don't think I'll be carrying much for a few more days."

"Is there anyone I can call for you? Any friends or family?" she offered.

He smiled and shook his head. "It's fine. I told them I'd be away for a few days, so they won't be worried about me yet."

She furrowed her brow. "What were you doing around there, anyway? I mean, in the alley?"

He shrugged. "Just going to the Village on an errand."

Sarah pursed her lips, but glanced at her watch. Nearly time to leave. She stood and stepped backward away from him toward the door. "Well, I've got to get to work."

He lay his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "Good luck."

Sarah grasped the door knob and smiled at him. "You have no idea how much I'll need that, but I'll see you later."

She stepped out and the door clicked shut. His eyes opened and he turned his head toward the door. He pursed his lips before he looked in the opposite direction where the window offered him a view of the bright day.

He pursed his lips and sighed. "Sorry about this. . ."

Sarah sighed and turned around. Jenny's face sat two inches from her own. She yelped and jerked back to stumble into the door behind her.

Jenny grinned. "Did you give him a kiss goodbye?"

Sarah frowned and pushed past her friend. "He's not my boyfriend."

Jenny followed behind her like a shadow. Her evil words whispered into her ears. "You know, you could give yourself a day off," she suggested as they walked into the living room. "I think the school would forgive you if you told them you had a rough night last night."

Sarah swung her bag over her shoulder and strode over to the front door. "If I told them that they'd probably assume I had a hangover. Besides-" she turned to her shadow and smiled, "-you can watch him."

Jenny cringed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. Don't you have the day off today?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then take care of him, and call me if anything goes wrong. Got it?"

Jenny sighed and gave her a lazy salute. "Aye aye, cap'n ma'am." Sarah looked past her friend at the hall and pursed her lips. A soft smile slipped onto Jenny's lips and she lay a hand on her friend's shoulder. "He'll be okay. I'm sure of it. Now get going."

Sarah nodded and left the apartment. She hurried down her normal route, but her footsteps slowed as she approached the scene of last night's adventure. A crowd of people and a police barricade forced her to stop at the mouth of the alley. To her right was the bus garage, and down the graveled way was parked a bunch of police cars.

"Hey, Miss Rennelle." She turned to a young man of seventeen who stood near her, a previous year's student by the name of Avery who was generally in the know. He had a smile on his lips. "Neat, huh?"

"What happened?" she asked him.

He scooted to her side and looked down the alley. "They say there was a big ruckus last night and the neighbors found the whole place wrecked. The cops figure a car tried to drive through the bus garage and didn't make it."

Her face paled as she remembered the headless man. "Did they find the driver?"

"Nope."

Sarah whipped her head to the young man. "What?"

He shrugged. "The driver drove off. I don't think they've found him yet." He paused and eyed her. "You don't look so well, Miss Rennelle. You okay?"

She shook herself and stepped back. Her voice sounded far away. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. I. . .I just need to get around her and get to school."

He grinned. "Just follow me, Miss Rennelle. We'll get there in plenty of time."

Sarah tightened her grip on the strap of her bag and nodded as her eyes flickered down the alley. "Not a bad idea."

They walked together down the street. Avery glanced at her . "You go that way to leave school, don't you, Miss Rennelle?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, sometimes."

"You didn't see anything last night, did you?"

Sarah grasped the strap so hard her hand turned white. She stared straight ahead and pursed her trembling lips. "I saw a lot of shadows, but that's it."

He shrugged. "Dang. That must've been a crazy driver to do that much damage and drive off that fast."

"Yeah. . ." she murmured.

The pair walked around the block and up the street to the high school. Students walked like zombies along the sidewalks with their eyes on their cell phones. They weaved in and out of the singles and groups until they reached the shaded campus of the high school.

Avery paused at an intersection of the sidewalks and turned to Sarah. "We could walk back together if you can leave that early."

She managed a firm smile. "Don't you think you're a little young to be walking me home?"

He grinned and took a step back. "Nope, but I'll see you later, Miss Rennelle." He turned and hurried away.

Sarah shook her head and continued into the long, wide brick building that served as the main portion of the high school. A long hall stretched from one end to the other. Her room lay near the far end and she found her students as eager to learn their studies as wild wolves are to be captured. She set her bag on her desk and sighed. Another long day in the annals of education.

Sarah tried to focus on her teaching, but she found her mind wandering back to the handsome stranger who even then lay in her bed. She reached up and brushed her hand against her neck.

"Miss Rennelle?"

Sarah started back and looked over her shoulder. She stood at the white board with the students behind her. Those not whispering to each other stared at her.

One of the young women pointed at the paper on her desk. "I need some help on this."

She smiled and nodded. "Sure thing, and Eric?" A boy looked up from a stack of papers on his desk. She walked up to him and held out her hand. "Phone please. You can have it back after class."

He frowned and reluctantly drew the phone from the papers and handed it to her. She walked back to the white board and set the phone up next to a dozen others.

The groups of students moved in and out of her classroom like a flow of young, captive humanity. Lunch came and went, and the shadows of the day lengthened. Her last class shuffled into the room and time, relative as it is, stopped. Eyes flickered to the clock above the white board or to the shut door to their right. The hands on the clock acted as though they were tied down to the face and could hardly move a minute for every ten that happened to the occupants.

Sarah was helping one of her students when a phone rang. It was the funeral march. Her face fell and she hurried over to her bag where she drew out her ringing phone. She glanced at her students who stared back at her. Some of them jerked their thumbs at the white board and grinned.

She pursed her lips. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought about that injured man. "I'll be right back. Keep doing your work."

Sarah hurried out into the hall and shut the door behind her before she answered the call. "What's wrong?"

"He's gone!"

Sarah's eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat before she shook herself and glared at the wall opposite her. "What do you mean he's gone? When? How?"

"I don't know! I went to the bathroom and when I came out he was gone! I can't find any of the bandages, either! And he stole my umbrella!"

Sarah shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How long were you in the bathroom?"

"Um, an hour?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Just great. . ."

"Maybe he went to see you?" she suggested.

"He doesn't even know what I do for a living, now shut up while I think," Sarah growled. She leaned her back against a wall and scrunched her eyes shut. There had to be a clue. Something he said last night.

"Didn't he say anything to you about where he lived or what he was doing in a dark alley?"

Sarah snapped her fingers. "That's it! He told me he was headed to the Village when we ran into each other!"

"Great, but you're forgetting that the Village is huge. There's blocks and blocks of just the old apartment buildings, not to mention the old business district," Jenny reminded her.

"But it's a place to look. I'll go from the school to there and see if I can't find him."

"Want me to chauffeur you?" Jenny offered.

"No, this is my problem. I'll call you if I need anything." She grasped the phone in both hands and smiled. "And Jenny?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not shutting up."

Her friend laughed. "Don't mention it. Just go look for that handsome guy so you two can have cute babies, and get my umbrella back."

Sarah shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "He's not my boyfriend."

"You can fix that with less talk and more walk! Now get going!" _Click_.

Sarah sighed as she dropped her arm to her side and shook her head. The smile slipped off her lips as she thought of their former lodger. She reached up and brushed her fingers against her neck. Her heart skipped a beat and a faint blush colored her cheeks.

"Miss Rennelle?"

She wrenched her arm to her side and whipped her head to her right. One of her female students leaned out the door of the classroom. She shook herself and smiled at her. "What is it?"

"I-well, I was just wondering-I mean, what are we doing next?"

"Doing next?" she whispered as she looked ahead. Sarah's eyebrows crashed down and she glanced at her watch. Ten minutes until quitting time. She pushed off the wall and marched into the classroom with her student close behind her. "Everybody!" Everyone's attention turned to her. "You can go home early, but if I hear you guys yelling, running, or even chewing loudly down the hall you'll have _two_ tests next Friday. Understood?" Twenty eager heads nodded up and down. She pointed at the open door. "Good. Now get out."

The students shoved their books into their bags and evacuated from the room before teacher changed her mind. In ten seconds Sarah was alone. She grabbed her purse and stepped into the hall. Her students were already out of sight. She pushed open the nearest exterior doors and slipped out.

Her quick footsteps clacked against the pavement as she hurried away from her duties and to her destiny.

# 7

In thirty minutes she was in the Village, the oldest modernized part of the city. Jenny wasn't wrong when she said there were blocks and blocks of housing. The oldest apartment buildings in the city, with their rickety fire escapes and chipped bricks, mixed with derelict Victorian mansions. Those ancient houses were surrounded by weed-covered lawns and scraggly trees that were starved for water.

"Why am I even doing this?" she mumbled as she tripped over another broken sidewalk.

Sarah stopped at one of the intersections and looked left and right. The blocks with their tall, dilapidated structures stretched for miles in both directions. In the distance the sun warned of its impending disappearance beneath the horizon of commercial buildings.

She pursed her lips and shook her head. "Where the hell is that idiot?"

Her thoughts wandered back to the hole in his chest. That hadn't healed, only been closed by the dried blood. If it reopened and he staggered into one of the countless alleys then he'd-

Sarah clenched her fists at her sides and fought off the tears that sprang to her eyes. She marched down the road that led to her left. Her eyes flitted up and down the street. The dilapidated scenery of broken stoops and dark alleys drained her courage. Step-by-step her heart sank lower. Her sharp eyes caught every shadow and every flicker of movement.

An hour passed and still there was no sign of him. The base of the streetlights were rusted with urine and their bulbs flickered with light, if they cast any light at all. She stopped in the middle of a block and checked her watch. Nearly dinnertime. She pursed her lips and looked up at the empty street ahead of her.

"Where are you, you idiot?" she whispered

"Hey, sweety."

She stiffened and glanced over her shoulder. A group of three men strode up to her. They were dressed in dark clothing with stains on them, and one of them wore a bandanna. Another wore a pair of heavy black boots with spikes on the toes.

The third one, the one who stood in the middle, leaned forward and studied her body. His eyes had an almost yellow glint to them as he grinned at her. "What's a sweety like you doing in a place like this?"

She turned to face them and frowned. Her body tensed as they studied her like wolves. "Looking for my-um, my boyfriend. He should be around here somewhere."

The man straightened and chuckled. "You hear that, guys? Her boyfriend should be around here. Whatta ya think of that?"

"I think we should help her," the one with the bandanna suggested.

The other laughed and stepped forward. His boots clacked hard against the sidewalk as he jerked his head to their right. "Yeah. Let's 'help' her into this alley."

Sarah's heart quickened as she stepped back and slipped her bag in front of her. "I-I'm fine. I'll just get-"

The boot man leapt forward and grabbed her wrist. She yanked back her arm, but he held tight to her. "Just shut up and get-"

"Is that any way to treat another guy's girlfriend?"

The men paused and everyone looked to the alley. A shadow stumbled from the darkness. In one hand was an umbrella. Sarah's eyes widened as she beheld that familiar crooked smile.

"Adam!" she cried out.

He leaned his weight against the closed, upside down umbrella and grinned at her. "What's up, girlfriend?"

She glared at him. "Stop being an idiot and-" Her words caught in her throat as her eyes wandered down his chest. His other hand clutched his stomach where a mess of bandages hung loosely around his chest. Fresh blood shown through his fingers. Her eyes flickered back up to his pale face. "What the hell are you doing? Get to a hospital!"

"And leave my girlfriend here with these thugs?" he returned as he shuffled along his support wall.

The leader of the three sneered at him. "What are you gonna do? Bleed on us?"

He raised his hand that clutched his stomach and studied the blood that stained his fingers. A sly smile slipped onto his lips. "That might not be a bad idea. Catch!"

Adam flung his hand at the leader. Blood splattered the man's face and eyes. He cried out and staggered back as he clawed at his blinded eyes. "You sick fuck! You're gonna pay for that!"

The bandanna-wearing man lunged at Adam. Adam stepped backward and the man collided into the wall. He grabbed the back of his attacker's head and slammed his forehead into the bricks. There was a light crack as skull connected with wall, and the man slid limp to the ground.

Adam turned to Sarah and gave her a thumbs up. "One more to go."

The boots man slid behind Sarah and wrapped his arm tightly around her neck. She gasped as he cut off some of her air passage. He pulled a knife from his pocket and held it up to her face. "Not another step, bro, or your girlfriend gets a free makeover!"

Adam stopped. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the man. "Don't you lay a hand-"

"So this is where you've been."

All eyes swiveled down the street behind Adam. A man in a plain black turtleneck sweater and black jeans stepped up beside the pale man and studied him. His soft, peculiar smile didn't match the sharp look in his red eyes. "You look like hell."

Adam managed a shaky grin. "I kind of feel like it."

The newcomer looked ahead of them at Sarah and the man in boots. He nodded at the pair. "Who are they?"

Adam followed his gaze and frowned. "Trouble, and someone in trouble." He shifted against the wall and winced.

The dark man glanced at Adam before he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Can't I take my eyes off you for one night?"

Adam shrugged. "I guess not, but you think you could help her out?"

The man in boots stepped back a few paces. His hand with the knife shook as his pair of opponents turned their full attention to him. "S-stay back! Stay back or I'll cut this bitch!" She gasped as he pressed the point of the knife against her throat.

The newcomer stepped forward and slipped his hands into his jeans pocket. His smile never left his face as his eyes met those of Sarah's captor. "I don't think you're going to do that."

The man froze. The blade was slowly removed from Sarah's neck. She glanced over her shoulder and into his face. The man's expression was blank, though his eyes were wide and stared straight ahead. There was a strange reddish color in their depths.

"Now why don't you just release that young woman?" the newcomer suggested.

The man dropped his arm. Sarah rushed forward past the newcomer and over to Adam. She leaned his weight against her as she looked back at the confrontation. "What the hell's going on?" she whispered to Adam.

"Just Ruthven's specialty," he replied.

The newcomer strode forward and pulled the knife from the man's hand. He studied the blade and shook his head. "A simple switchblade. So few criminals have good taste in weapons." He closed the blade and returned his attention to the frozen man. "You can leave now."

The man turned around and shuffled down the street. The newcomer turned to the other two and smiled. "If you two are no longer indisposed, I would like-"

"You fucks aren't going fucking anywhere!" the leader screamed.

He stood in the middle of the road and wiped the last remnants of Adam's blood off his face as he drew a gun from his pocket. Adam grimaced and drew Sarah behind him as the man pointed the barrel at them. The man's finger pressed on the trigger.

The switchblade flew through the air and buried itself deep into his wrist. He let out a terrible scream as the gun clattered to the ground. The man clutched his impaled hand to his chest as the black-clad newcomer strode up to him. The newcomer grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him into the air. Their foe's legs flailed a foot off the ground as he squirmed in the man's grasp.

"Lemme go!" he yelped.

Ruthven sneered at him. "Pathetic. You shouldn't be allowed to live."

"Ruthven!" Adam called to his acquaintance.

Ruthven paused for a moment before he turned to them with his peculiar smile. "Only kidding." He tossed the man to the side as though he were a rag doll. The thug scrambled to his feet and stumbled off into the night as the man in black turned to them. "You forget that I don't often soil myself with such riffraff."

Adam frowned. "It looked like you were going to make an exception this-" He clenched his teeth and clutched his stomach as his whole body shuddered.

Sarah grabbed his shoulders. "What's wrong? Adam?"

Adam's eyes slid closed and he dropped to the ground. The umbrella slipped from his loose hold and clattered to the sidewalk. She caught him before he hit the sidewalk, but all she could manage was to lay him on his back. "Adam!"

"Allow me." Ruthven knelt down beside them and drew Adam's hand away from the wound. His smile wavered as he studied the wound. "I see."

Her heart skipped a beat. "See? See what?"

The newcomer lifted Adam into his arms as though he weighed as much as a baby and stood. He half-turned away from Sarah, though his bright eyes never left hers. "Do you really want to know and risk another attack, or do you want to return to your life of normalcy?"

Sarah's eyebrows crashed down and pursed her lips. She stood and balled her hands into fists at her sides, but they shook a little. "I want to know what's going on."

Ruthven smiled and turned away. "Then follow me."

# 8

With the umbrella in one hand and the strap of her bag in the other, Ruthven led Sarah through the ruined streets to one of the three-floor tenant houses that were built in the latter part of the nineteenth century. A few touches of Victorian architecture were represented by the wraparound porch and the circular tower on the front right of the house. Its pointed peek stretched into the dark sky and seemed to stab at the clouds that drifted in front of the stars.

They entered through the large front door and into the entrance hall where they took a right into a parlor. The horsehair furniture and a large fireplace along the opposite wall from the archway showed an elegance that contrasted sharply with the depressing view outside the bay windows.

Ruthven lay Adam on the couch and stepped back. Sarah knelt down beside Adam and touched his head. She winced as she felt the burning heat of fever, and looked up at the man who stood beside her.

"Is there anything you can do for him?" she asked him.

He studied her with his peculiar smile and sharp, red-tinged eyes. "You show quite the interest in my friend."

Sarah blushed and looked back to Adam. "He saved me, that's all, and I don't want him to die because of me."

"I see. Under such circumstances I won't lie to you. He has a grievous wound."

Her heart sank as she looked at Adam's pale, scrunched-up face. "He. . .he's not going to die, is he?"

Ruthven gazed down at the unconscious man and shook his head. "No, but in such a pitiable state it's hard to believe he's the last heir of the Blood Dragon line."

She frowned and looked over her shoulder at him. "He's what?"

Ruthven smiled down at her. "You are quite new to this, aren't you? In that case-" he gestured to one of two high-backed chairs across the coffee table from the couch, "-please make yourself comfortable and allow me to answer any questions you have."

Sarah reluctantly parted from Adam's side and took a seat in the chair where she set her bag in her lap. The dark man seated himself in the other chair that stood a few feet to her left so that he commanded a view of both her and Adam.

He crossed his legs and lay his hands in his lap as he studied her. "I feel I must introduce myself first. I am Ruthven, and this-" he gestured to the room, "-is my home."

"I'm Sarah," she replied.

He smiled. "A lovely name for a lovely young woman."

Sarah blushed and shifted in her seat. "Thanks, but you were going to tell me what a Blood Dragon was."

Ruthven leaned back in his seat and nodded. "I was, wasn't I? You seem hardly surprised by the dragon part, so I must assume you've seen one."

She pursed her lips. "Yes, at least I think that's what it was. They're big, with wings and clawed feet and hands, right?"

He bowed his head. "That is one form, yes."

She nodded at Adam. "And you said he was a dragon, right? So is that another form?"

Ruthven followed where she pointed and sighed. "That is now the natural form of the dragons, though not their ancient form."

Sarah studied Adam's handsome face and powerful body. Her heart sank and she hung her head. "So he really isn't human. . ."

"Does that disappoint you?"

She shook herself from her thoughts and straightened in her seat. A light blush accented her cheeks. "No. I'm-well, I'm just not surprised, that's all. I mean, a human couldn't really survive that kind of stabbing." She looked to her host and studied his pale complexion. "So what is a Blood Dragon?"

"A Blood Dragon is one who is descended from the ancient union of a vampire princess and the younger son of a dragon lord," he explained.

She blinked at him. "Are you serious?"

He smiled and bowed his head. "Quite serious. It was rather a surprise to everyone that a vampire could conceive, but the powerful magic within the bloodline of the young dragon granted them a child. Of course-" he tilted his head to one side as he studied her with his soft smile, "-I have heard they were very much in love, and love is a very powerful magic in and of itself."

She held up one finger and frowned. "Wait a sec. You're telling me that there's not only dragons, but vampires and magic, and this guy-" she jerked her thumb at Adam, "-is some sort of a prince?"

He looked to Adam and chuckled. "It's pretty hard to believe he's a descendant of such a prestigious bloodline, but surely after everything you've seen you don't doubt the rest of my story?"

Sarah pursed her lips and looked back to Adam. Except for the blood that stained his front he looked perfectly normal. "No, but it's-well, it's a little hard to swallow all at once."

Ruthven stood. "I am sure things will make sense for you in a short time. In the meantime, would you care for a drink?"

Sarah returned her attention to her host and shook her head. "No thanks, but I would like to know how you fit in here. How do you know so much about all this stuff? And how do you know Adam?"

He curled his lips back to reveal long, sharp fangs. "You could say we're cousins."

She gasped and her feet instinctively pushed against the floor. Her chair teetered backwards toward the floor, but the man, with superhuman speed, disappeared from his chair and reappeared at her side.

He caught the top of the chair before it tipped back and pushed the front feet back to the floor. His bright red eyes smiled down at her. "You need to be more careful. I'd hate for my friend's blood sacrifice to be a waste."

She raised a shaking finger and pointed it at him. "B-but y-you're a-a-"

"A vampire? I can see why he wanted to save you. Not only cute, but smart." He leaned down and sniffed the side of her face. She cringed and shrank away before he pulled back. His peculiar smile lay on his lips as he studied her. "And you smell nice. Like a shop full of blood candy."

Sarah pressed herself against the opposite arm of the chair. "You're not going to kill me, are you?"

He straightened and moved to stand beside the couch. "What kind of friend would I be if I ate the woman my friend saved? Besides, he'd kill me when he woke up, and I'd rather not go through that again."

Sarah relaxed her body and furrowed her brow. "So he's going to make it?"

Ruthven nodded. "Yes, though he is taking longer than I expected to awaken. Perhaps he needs some help healing those wounds of his." He drew back his long sleeve and raised his arm to his mouth.

Sarah's eyes widened as his long teeth slipped out from beneath his upper lips Her mouth dropped open as he bit deep into his own arm. Blood slipped out of the wounds even before he pulled his arm away. He knelt on the floor beside the couch and held the dripping holes over Adam's parted lips. The blood dripped into his mouth and down his chin.

Sarah tensed as Adam's neck moved with the action of swallowing. It took only a few swallows for his eyes to fly open. The vampire drew his arm away just as Adam shot up. The injured man grabbed his throat and was struck by a coughing fit.

His bright blue eyes flickered to vampire and narrowed. "What the- _cough_ -hell, Ruthven? You know- _cough_ -your blood tastes like- _cough_ -shit!"

Ruthven stood and smiled. "I was impatient to hear your story, and this young woman-" he gestured to Sarah, "-was concerned about you."

Adam followed his friend's hand and his eyes fell on Sarah. He grinned at her. "So you're still part of the party, huh?"

She leapt to her feet and glared at him. "Right in the middle of it, thanks to you! What did you think you were doing running off like that? You could've been killed!"

Adam lay back down and closed his eyes with a smile still on his lips. "That'd be something, wouldn't it? Might be kind of fun. Death and I are kind of old friends, anyway."

Sarah marched up to the couch and swung her hand out to slap him. He caught her wrist and peeked open one eye. "You know, you're pretty cute when you're angry."

Her eyebrows crashed down and she wrenched herself from his grasp. "What the hell is wrong with you? I didn't drag your ass back to my apartment just for you to get yourself killed!"

"Killed?"

Everyone glanced at the archway. A young girl of fifteen stood in the doorway. She had long dark hair that swished at her waist and dark eyes like those of Adam. Her attire was a simple pair of dark jeans with a turtleneck sweater similar to that worn by Ruthven.

Her dark eyes fell on Adam and she gasped. "What happened?"

He sat up and shook his head. "It's nothing, really. I just got a little carried away playing with another dragon, that's all."

She rushed across the room and wrapped him in a tight hug. "You promised me you wouldn't do stuff like that anymore!"

Adam's eyes shot wide open and he let out a yelp. He grabbed her shoulders and drew her away from him. His face was scrunched up with pain and his voice was hoarse. "You could warn me before you do that."

She glared up at him. "But you promised!"

He looked past her at Sarah and a crooked smile slid onto his lips. "Let's just say it was for a good reason."

The young girl followed his gaze and tilted her head to one side as her eyes fell on Sarah. "Who's she?"

Adam gingerly climbed to his feet and turned the girl around so they faced both Sarah. "Catherine, this is Sarah. Sarah, this is my little sister, Catherine."

Catherine glanced over her shoulder and glared up at her taller brother. "It's Cate."

He held up his hands and sheepishly smiled at her. "All right, it's Cate. Anyway, I had to save Sarah's life. She was in a lot of trouble."

Cate returned her attention to Sarah and studied her. "What kind of trouble?"

Adam looked to Ruthven and his humor fled from his face. "Some trouble with a vampire slayer."

Ruthven arched an eyebrow. "A Saint?"

"It looked like it, and she got Simon before he could tell us more about them," he replied.

Ruthven closed his eyes and sighed. "I see. That's why he didn't arrive last night."

Sarah frowned as she glanced between the men. "What are you two talking about? Do you know what that attack was about last night?"

Adam scratched one cheek and shrugged. "We might know something about it, but you should probably be getting-"

"Oh no!" Cate grabbed Sarah's hand in both of hers and tugged her toward the door. She had a grip like cold iron and a strength that more than equaled Sarah's so that she found herself stumbling toward the archway. "Adam and Ruth never tell me the truth, so you're going to tell me what happened to my brother!"

I snorted and looked at the vampire. "'Ruth?'"

Ruthven shrugged. "I can't break her of the habit. She's too stubborn."

Cate paused in her tugging and glared at the undead. "It's because your name's too long, now we're going to have a girl talk, so you guys-" A heavy hand dropped onto her shoulder. She looked up into the serious face of her older brother.

"Sarah's been through a lot tonight. I think she'd rather go home," he told her.

Cate's face fell and she bit her lower lip. "But I wanna know."

Sarah looked to Adam and frowned. "I'd like to know some stuff, too, like how many dragon people and vampires are out there, and whether I should suddenly get religion and a fire extinguisher to protect myself."

He shook his head. "Believe me, you don't want to know anything about our world."

She pulled herself out of Cate's lax hold and turned to face Adam as she put her hands on her hip. "I know enough now to get myself almost killed. How much worse can it get than that?"

He caught her eyes with his own steady gaze. "Far worse than you can imagine." Sarah started back and blinked at him.

Cate glanced between them with a frown on her lips. She grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her out of the room. "I'm still going to get my answers, so come on!"

Adam frowned and took a step forward as he stretched out his hand. "Wait a-" he winced as his chest wound pulsed with pain. Sarah and Cate disappeared around the corner and up the stairs. "Damn it. . ." he muttered.

Ruthven stepped between him and the doorway and smiled. "Let me take a look at that wound."

Adam shook his head. "It's fine. I have to-"

"Get some rest." Ruthven grabbed the back of his collar and dragged Adam back onto the couch.

Adam sat up. "I'll be-"

"Quiet for a moment," Ruthven commented as he pushed Adam down onto the cushions. He tore open the man's shirt and brushed aside the blood to take a look at the hole. Adam winced and clenched his teeth. Ruthven pursed his lips and his eyes flickered up to Adam's face. "You know, there's a fast way to heal this."

Adam glared back at him. "No way."

Ruthven shrugged and stood. "All right, but it's going to hurt re-wrapping it. You did a bad job the first time."

"I made it to the Village."

"From where exactly?"

Adam frowned and looked away. "From somewhere else."

Ruthven clucked his tongue as he walked over to a narrow banquet table at the back of the room. "You really need to be more trusting of me, my friend."

Adam sat up and winced. "I know you, Ruthven. You'd turn me against my own nose if you thought it would win you an argument."

On the top of the table lay a tray with a decanter and a glass. Ruthven took the decanter and walked back to the front of the couch where he stood over his friend. A sly smile lay on his lips as he took a seat on the coffee table in front of the couch and drew off the remains of his bandages. "Your new acquaintance wouldn't appreciate my ruining your face."

Adam turned his face away and cast his eyes at the back of the couch. "I didn't want her to get involved. . ."

Ruthven sighed. "I'd like to hear the whole story if you wouldn't mind drawing yourself from your melancholy. First, however-" He hovered the cup over Adam's chest and poured the alcoholic contents over the open wound.

Adam's eyes flew open and his mouth opened wide in a high-pitched scream.

"Ruthven!"

# 9

Sarah paused in the upstairs hall and frowned. "What was that?"

"Probably Ruth torturing my brother," Cate explained as she gave a tug. "But come on. My room's this way."

Sarah didn't get a full tour of the house, but on the second floor landing she did see a long hallway of doors on either side with a window at the end. The third floor was likewise arranged with shut doors. As Cate dragged her past them she noticed there were nameplates beside each door, but the sliders were empty.

They reached the end of the third-floor hall and turned left into a large bedroom. A stone fireplace stood against the opposite wall, and to its left was a four-post bed. A nightstand stood between them and on its top was a large lamp with a black shade. The windows looked out on a dreary backyard of weeds and trash with a high wooden fence around it.

Cate dragged Sarah over to the bed and pulled them both onto its bouncy mattress. The young girl leaned toward her and narrowed her eyes. "Now tell me everything."

Sarah tucked her bag into her lap and leaned toward her so their foreheads almost touched. "What do you say?"

The girl furrowed her brow. "I say I want to know everything."

"When you ask someone for something you're supposed to say 'please,'" Sarah explained.

Cate tilted her head to one side and blinked at her guest. "Really?"

"Didn't your brother-" Sarah's face fell. "No, I guess your brother wouldn't have been the one to teach you manners, but didn't your teachers teach you that?"

She shook her head. "I haven't had any teachers other than Ruth and my brother."

"What about the other people in this house? The tenants?" Sarah suggested.

"There aren't any tenants. It's just Ruth and my brother and me," Cate told her.

Sarah arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Cate shrugged. "Ruth says he hasn't found the right tenants to fill the place. I think it's because he doesn't like people all that much, and he's rich enough he doesn't have to worry about taking anybody in."

"How old _is_ Ruth?" Sarah asked her.

Cate furrowed her brow and tapped her chin. "I don't really know. He doesn't talk much about himself, or even much, anyway. I mean, sometimes during meals he-" She paused and frowned as she turned her attention to Sarah. "I'm the one who's supposed to be asking the questions."

Sarah leaned her back against one of the foot posts and smiled. "I think you were doing pretty well with all the talking. It sounds like you don't have anybody to talk to around here. Don't you have any friends?"

Cate's face fell and she looked down at her lap. "I'm. . .I'm not really allowed outside the house."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because Adam and I are the only Blood Dragons left."

"So what makes a Blood Dragon so special?" Sarah asked her.

The young girl winced. "I'm not really supposed to talk about that. Adam doesn't like me to."

"It can't be that bad. Ruthven-Ruth already told me you were descended from a vampire and a dragon," Sarah told her. "So does that make you some sort of a hybrid?"

Cate bit her lower lip. "Could you. . .could you please tell me what happened to my brother?" She raised her gaze to Sarah and looked at her with pleading eyes. "I'll tell you everything if you tell me what happened. Please tell me."

Sarah smiled down at her. "All right. It's a deal, but I warn you you might not like the details."

Cate sat up straight and stiffened her lower jaw. "I can take it."

Adam and Ruthven walked side-by-side down the third floor hall when they heard a noise.

"He _what_?"

Adam winced. It was his sister's voice. Ruthven chuckled. "I think your secret's been found out."

The men stopped when the door to Cate's room swung op and slammed against the wall. A short blur flew out and paused in the hall. Cate stood in the corridor with her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"You promised me you weren't going to go on any more missions!" she snapped.

Adam held up his hands. "It was just supposed to be a rendezvous. That's all."

Cate marched up to him and stood before her tall brother a shaking mass of fury. "You promised!"

"I didn't mean for things to get-ouch!"

Cate had poked him in the chest. "Oh, does that hurt? It wouldn't hurt if you'd kept your promise!"

He cringed and clutched his wound. "I admit things got out of-ouch! Will you stop that?"

"I'm not going to stop until you promise me- _for real this time_ -that you're not going to do anything else dangerous!" she insisted.

"I told you- _ouch_ -that it just- _ouch_ -will you stop that?" he growled.

Ruthven slipped behind Cate and wrapped his arms around her before he pulled her away. A bemused smile lay on his face as he watched Adam's agony. "No more of that. I don't want his clean bandages to be ruined so quickly."

Tears streamed down Cate's cheeks as she glared up at her brother. "You promised! You said you wouldn't do those dangerous things anymore so I wouldn't be alone!"

Adam looked at her with downcast eyes. "I'm sorry, Cate. I didn't mean to break my promise." He looked past them at Cate's room. Sarah's head stuck out. He pursed his lips. "I just couldn't stand by and watch anyone else get hurt."

Cate slumped in Ruthven's hold and cast her eyes down at the floor. "What would I have done if you'd gotten yourself killed, huh? Did you ever think of that?"

Adam sighed. "Cate. . ."

"She's got a point," Sarah spoke up as she stepped out into the hall. She walked over to the group as Ruthven released the bleary-eyed Cate from his hold. Sarah gestured to the young woman. "From what Cate told me if something happened to you and Ruthven she wouldn't even know how to pay the taxes on this place."

Adam arched an eyebrow. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you need to take her outside so she learns a thing or two before you guys get yourselves killed," Sarah told him. Cate lifted her gaze and stared wide-eyed at Sarah.

Adam's eyebrows crashed down. "She can't go out."

Sarah put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Why not? You do."

"That's different. I know the world."

"And she _won't_ know it unless she gets out there."

"I want to go out there!" Cate pleaded.

Adam set his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You know why you can't go out there, Cate."

She frowned. "I can control it. Just let me prove it to you."

Adam looked up to Ruthven who stood in the background. "Come on, Ruthven, help me out here."

A smile graced his pale lips as Ruthven folded his arms over his chest. "Perhaps it is time you took Cate out to see the world."

Cate squealed and leapt onto Ruthven, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you!"

He chuckled as he pulled her away and turned her to face Sarah. "Don't thank me, thank this young woman here."

Cate beamed at Sarah. "Thank you so much."

"Wait a minute! I still haven't said you can go out!" Adam spoke up.

Everyone's attention fell on him. Cate was misty-eyed as she stepped up to her brother and clasped her hands together in front of her. "Please? Please can I go outside?"

He pursed his lips. His eyes flickered up to Sarah. She smiled. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "All right."

Cate squealed and clapped her hands together. "Finally! Can we go-" Her joyous moment was interrupted by the somber tune of the funeral march.

Sarah sighed as she puled out her phone from the bag on her shoulders and answered the call. "I'm fine."

"Are you-oh," Jenny's voice came over the line. "Well, why didn't you call sooner?"

Her eyes flickered over the strange group in front of her. Cate was hugging her brother and causing him to turn pale from pain. Ruthven stood aloof, but with a sly smile on his lips. "I was helping Adam get back to his family."

"Adam? That's the cute guy you met, right? Does he have a cute brother? Did he have my umbrella?"

"Yes, he had your umbrella. As for the relative-" Sarah glanced at Ruthven, "-he isn't exactly your type."

"I'm willing to give it a try."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll explain later. Now you know I'm fine so I'll-"

"Actually, there was something else."

Sarah frowned at the floor. "What else?"

"The school called. One of your kids was caught trying to pick up his girlfriend in another class."

The color drained from her face. "What'd they want?"

"To talk to you, but I told them you had a family emergency and probably wouldn't be back until late."

Sarah ran her hand down one side of her face and sighed. "All right. Thanks for covering for me."

"No problem. Now you and your handsome boyfriend try to get some quality time alone and-" Sarah pressed the cancel button and sighed.

"Your friend?" Adam guessed.

Sarah tucked the phone back in her bag and pursed her lips. "Yeah." She looked to Cate and smiled. "You ready to go outside?"

Cate nodded. "Yep."

The pair looked to Adam. His shoulders slumped and he sighed. "All right, but only for an hour, all right? And give me some time to change into some clean clothes."

Cate wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him another tight squeeze. "Thank you so much!"

Adam winced and pried her off of him before he looked to Ruthven. "You coming?"

Ruthven smiled and shook his head. "No. I have some business to finish."

Cate grabbed her brother's hand and dragged him toward the door. "Let's go!"

# 10

A half hour later and they were in the busiest business district in the city. Cars, when they weren't gridlocked, rushed past the crowded sidewalks. Humanity streamed past brightly lit boutique shops and large department stores. Their open doors welcomed all comers, particularly those with fat wallets.

Cate walked on Adam's right while Sarah was on his left. Her wide eyes took in the bright streetlights and diverse attire of the other pedestrians who strode by them. Women in high fashion reluctantly mingled with teenagers in torn jeans and shirts.

Groups of men leaned against the brick walls of the shops and leered at the more promiscuous women. Single men and those with girlfriends kept their impulses in check with only quick glances at the beautiful women who loitered on the streets.

Cate gawked at all the sights and people. The shops stood on their left and the busy road was to their right. She winced when someone bumped into her shoulder. "There's a lot of people here."

"Sometimes it's busier," Sarah told her.

"What do all these people do here?" Cate wondered.

Sarah nodded at one of the sliding doors that led into a department store. "Shopping, mostly."

Cate cut across her brother and hurried toward the door. "I want to try-hey!"

Adam held the back of her jeans and shook his head. "We don't need you to be trying on clothes until sunrise."

Her lips puckered out into a pout. "But I want to try shopping."

"Shopping involves clothes, and clothes involve me growing old and dying while waiting while you try them on," he pointed out.

She frowned. "You know we don't die from that." Sarah arched an eyebrow.

Adam sighed and released her. "Listen, this is your first time out here, so why don't you enjoy the sights and then the next time we'll go shopping, okay?"

Cate looked around and rubbed her shoulder. "Only if I can walk ahead of you. People keep bumping into me, and I want to see the shops."

He pursed his lips, but he nodded. "All right, but keep close to me and don't get out of my sight."

She smiled and nodded. "No problem!"

They resumed their slow march down the sidewalk. Sarah looked up at Adam's face. His eyes were glued to his younger sibling. "So you two don't age?"

He shrugged. "We age until our bodies reach full maturity."

"So how old are you really?" she wondered.

His eyes flickered to her and frowned. "Would you believe three hundred years old?"

Sarah started back and her eyes widened. "That old?"

A sly smile slipped onto his lips as he shook his head. "I'm not really that old."

She frowned. "Then how old?"

"Fifty."

Sarah smiled. "Funny. You don't look a day past forty-nine." She looked ahead of them and nodded at Cate. "So is she really fifteen, or is she forty?"

He returned his attention to Cate and a shadow passed over his brow. "She's really fifteen"

"So why the big age difference?"

"She was unexpected."

Sarah grinned. "That must have been a shock for your parents."

"Very."

Sarah frowned and leaned forward to catch his eye. "Did I say something wrong?"

He turned his face far enough to avoid her gaze. "I'd rather not tell you. You're in deep enough as it is."

Sarah sighed and straightened. "It's not like everything about your world is bad." She looked ahead of them at Cate and gestured to her. "Your sister's a good girl, and smart. I think she knows more about what's going on then you know, otherwise she wouldn't be so worried about you."

Adam pursed his lips as his eyes fell on his sister. "I'd keep her from everything if I could."

The young woman frowned up at him. "So you're just going to keep her locked up in that room for the rest of her life?"

"I want to keep her safe."

Sarah grabbed his arm and stopped them as she turned Adam to face her. "That's not keeping her safe, that's making sure she won't be prepared for anything life will throw at her. That's more dangerous than anything out here."

Adam glared at her. "You don't know anything about our world."

" _Then_ _let me understand_. Prove me wrong," she insisted.

He wrenched himself from her grasp and shook his head. "You don't understand what you're asking. Cate and I-" He paused and looked around. His eyes widened and he turned to face straight ahead. "Cate."

Sarah's heart skipped a beat as she looked over the crowds. Cate was nowhere to be seen. "She has to be around here somewhere. I'm sure there's nothing wrong-"

He grabbed her arm and drew her close to him. His soft voice was tense and his words came through clenched teeth. "We have to find her before she kills someone."

Sarah's eyes widened and she whipped her head to him. "She'll _what_?"

"Being a Blood Dragon means we're tempted to drink other people's blood like a vampire," he explained.

Her heart skipped a beat before she balled her free hand into a fist and glared at him. "That would've been good to know sooner!"

"I didn't want you to get involved!"

"And now we're neck-deep in trouble!"

He looked ahead of them and pursed his lips. "If we don't hurry and find Cate that may be the exact problem we have." He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the sidewalk. His shoulder bumped into several fellow pedestrians who gave him dirty looks. "Come on."

"Where exactly are you dragging me?" Sarah growled.

He shook his head. "I don't know. She could be half a city away by-"

"Adam!"

They stopped and whipped their heads to the left. The mouth of an alley presented itself to them, and in the shadows of the narrow side street stood the familiar form of Cate. She waved her hand above her head. "Over here! Hurry!"

Adam released his hold on Sarah and rushed forward. She followed, but slowed to a stop to watch Adam grab Cate's shoulders. His eyes swept up and down her form. "Are you okay? What happened?"

She grinned and gestured down to the darkness behind a garbage can. "I found this."

He followed her hand and Sarah joined them to peer over his shoulder. Two yellow eyes blinked back at them. A soft mew confirmed their suspicions.

"A cat?" Sarah guessed.

Cate smiled and nodded. "Yes. I saw her laying beside the can and went over to her. She's so friendly! She let me pick her up and pet her and everything."

Adam frowned and leaned down so they were almost eye-level with one another. "Next time think a little. I thought something had happened to you."

She hung her head and bit her lower lip. "I didn't mean to leave you. I just wanted to help it."

Her brother sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. She raised her eyes and he softly smiled at her. "You did a good thing."

Her face brightened. "So I can keep it?"

He winced. "I'm not sure-"

Sarah looped her arms around one of his and smiled at Cate. "Of course he does. It'll be good company."

Cate looked from Sarah to her brother. "Does it? Can I?"

He pursed his lips, but nodded. "All right, but you're the one responsible for caring for it."

She scooped the little kitten into her arms and nodded. "I promise!"

Adam glanced to their right where the crowded streets and bright lights showed off civilization. He looked the other direction and nodded at the dark alley. "We should head toward home."

"What about some cat food?" Cate reminded him.

He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "All right, but then we go straight home, okay?"

"One of the stores on the main street sells pet supplies," Sarah spoke up.

He gestured to the lit street to their right. "Lead the way."

The three companions, with the ball of fur, walked out into the busy sidewalk. More than one person glanced at the cute young woman with the black-as-night kitten in her arms. A group of girls stopped and one of them stepped forward.

"Could we pet your kitten?" she requested.

Cate smiled and nodded. "Go ahead."

Sarah smiled as the girls oohed and aah'ed over the adorable creature. The kitten itself purred and rubbed their fingers. She shook her head and glanced up at Adam. His face was tense. "You okay?" she whispered.

He swept his eyes over the area. "We're too slow. We need to get back to the house."

She frowned and nudged him in the arm with her elbow. "You're too paranoid. Not everybody is out to get you. Besides-" she gestured to Cate and the girls as they parted ways, "-your sister's having a great time."

Adam looked to his sister as she turned to him her face aglow with a bright smile. His own smile teased the corner of his lips as she ran up to him. "Wasn't that great? They said he was really adorable, and that we looked great together."

He looked down at the fuzz ball in her cupped arms. "Not bad, but don't hug him out of existence."

She glared at him and spun on her heels to face ahead of the group. "I'm not hugging him too tight. I'm just. .. I'm just making sure he doesn't fall." A sharp intake of breath and she whipped her head back to the pair where she pointed at the crowds in front of them. "Ruthven's coming!"

Sarah and Adam followed where she pointed. The dark vampire was indeed coming their way. He slipped through the crowd like a ghost. The men avoided him as though he was a dominant alpha, and the women ogled his features as though he were Adonis.

Cate met him halfway with her two companions close behind. "Look, Ruth!" She held the kitten up to his face. The creature blinked at him. "I found him in an alley."

He arched an eyebrow. "How. . .interesting."

"What brought you out here?" Adam wondered as they came up to him.

Ruthven's expression darkened as his gaze turned to them. "We have to leave this place."

Adam frowned. "Is there danger?"

Ruthven looked past them and upward. "Yes, and it's following you."

# 11

Andrea couldn't believe it. The vampire had not only survived the attack by her dragon, but he walked about town as though nothing had happened to him. Then he had the audacity to run into her without even recognizing her.

"And that is unforgivable," she growled as she looked down on him and his group.

Andrea stood and let the wind pull at her long coat. Behind her lay the plain roof of one of the department stores. Before her stretched the busy street some hundred feet below her feet as she stood on the short wall that circled the roof. The hulking figure of her winged dragon man stood behind her. His wings were folded close to his back as his yellow eyes watched her.

Andrea watched their movements. Her prey had gathered the human female from an alley and continued down the street with the interfering human woman at his side. She clenched her hands at her sides as she watched them cavort with the group of girls. They parted, but were joined by a man dressed entirely in black attire. Her nostrils flared as she smelled a heavy scent of blood on the newcomer. Another vampire, and one not indifferent to the taste of blood.

Andrea started back when the man in black looked up and stared directly at her. She stepped back off the wall and hunkered down. The group hurried down the street with a quicker step than before. They turned off the crowded sidewalk and into one of the alleys in the direction of the older business district. She spun around to face her dragon.

"Let's go."

He scooped her into his arms and unfurled his long wings. The breeze on the roof turned into a maelstrom as he flapped his powerful wings and lifted them off the ground. In a few moments they were flying over the rooftops and after their prey.

On the ground the companions swiftly moved into the alley. Ruthven was at the lead with Cate beside him. Sarah and Adam brought up the rear.

"So what's this danger?" Sarah asked the vampire.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "A Saint follows you. I wouldn't doubt that it's the same one you met last night."

Sarah arched an eyebrow. "A Saint? So are they like Saint George except they use the dragon instead of slaying it?"

Adam shook his head. "No. They refer to themselves as Saints because they consider themselves to be doing the world a favor by killing all vampires."

Sarah's eyes widened. "So you mean there's more than one of these people?"

"We don't really know how many there are, but we do know they are in this city and they're doing a good job on hunting us down," Adam told her.

Sarah noticed Cate hugged her kitten closer to herself. She pursed her lips and looked back to Adam. "So how do we get rid of this crazy killer?"

He frowned. " _We_ do nothing. Ruthven and I will take care of her."

Ruthven snorted and turned looked at Adam with a grin on his lips. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm not up for a fight right now, and neither are you."

Adam clenched his teeth and pressed his hand over his hidden wound. "I'll be fine. I can handle this."

"Like you handled her last night?" Ruthven challenged him.

"I said I'll be fine."

Sarah slipped between them and walked side-step so she could stretch her arms around toward both of them. "Easy there, boys. What Cate and I want to know is how you're going to get _us_ out of here, and-" her eyes flickered to Adam, "-I don't think fighting is going to be the answer. I don't want to literally become dead weight for you."

"I know a shortcut to my house that's near here, and someone who might help us," Ruthven told her.

Adam dug his feet into the ground and glared at him. "We're not going to her."

The others stopped and Ruthven and Cate turned to the other two. "Do you have a better idea?"

"We fight. The only way we can keep this Saint off us for good is to defeat her in battle," Adam insisted.

Sarah raised her hand. "Can Cate and I have a vote on this?"

Ruthven looked to Cate and smiled. "Would you like to visit Aunt Maeve?"

Cate nodded. "I'd love to!"

Adam narrowed his eyes. "We are not-" A large shadow swooped down and landed hard a few feet behind them.

The companions were splattered with dirty water and trash. They shielded their faces with their arms and looked up when the debris had settled. Sarah's heart skipped a beat as she beheld the dragon man. He stooped and set Andrea on the ground.

The young Saint brushed off the front of her coat and looked up at the group. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Adam. "You might have survived my dragon once, but I won't let you get away again."

Sarah backed away from the pair and grabbed Cate's shoulders. "I think running is the better idea right now."

She turned away and dragged Cate with her. Adam stepped forward, but Ruthven grasped his shoulder and shook his head. "Now is not the time for heroics, my friend."

Adam turned and glared at him. "I'm not going to-ah!" His eyes widened as a puff of air was forced from his mouth. He fell forward and his eyes closed.

Ruthven removed his fist from his friend's stomach and caught him in his arms. "Sorry about this, but Cate wouldn't forgive me if I let you die."

He hefted Adam over his shoulder and retreated down the alley. Andrea frowned and looked over her shoulder at the dragon man. "Destroy them and kill the humans."

The dragon growled and spread his wings. He pushed off and flew low and fast across the alley.

Ruthven caught up to the women. Sarah glanced over at him and her face fell. "What happened to Adam?"

"I convinced him we needed to leave. Now follow me."

Ruthven took a sharp left and rammed his empty shoulder into a side door of a nearby building. He disappeared into the dark interior. Sarah skidded to a stop and paused before the darkness. She looked behind them. The dragon was nearly upon the pair. Sarah swallowed her fear and pulled Cate in after her.

The dragon stretched out its hand toward them. Its claws missed Cate by a few inches. The door slammed shut behind the young woman and crashed against his fingers. He skidded to a stop using his taloned feet and growled as he clutched his hand to himself. Andrea rushed up to the door. She grabbed the knob and threw it open.

A wall of bricks presented itself to her. Andrea frowned and pounded her fist against the bricks. She winced and rubbed her bruised hand as her dragon walked up to her side. "God damn vampires."

"You know they can't do that."

She whirled around to find Maurice seated on a garbage can. His legs were crossed and a smile lay on his lips.

Andrea turned and glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you could use my help. It looks like I was right." Maurice hopped off his can and sauntered past her to the brick wall. He rapped on the brick with the back of his knuckle and swept his eyes up and down the closed entrance. "This is some powerful magic."

"I don't need your help to get my prey," Andrea snapped at him. Her hulking monster stomped up behind her and growled at Maurice.

He turned to them and wagged his finger. "Naughty, naughty. Is that any way to treat your coworker? Especially when I come bearing a message from our client."

Andrea frowned "What does he want?"

"He wants us to gather just a few more souls apiece, and then our contract with him will be done."

The young woman arched an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Maurice shrugged. "Perhaps, but you know how fickle our little boy can be."

Andrea turned to her right where the brick door stood. A sly smile slipped onto her lips. "I know just the vampires I want next."

# 12

Sarah tripped on something in the dark and fell to the floor. Cate stumbled and dropped on top of her, though the kitten jumped from her arms and landed a safe distance away. Their limbs tangled like a bad game of Twister on the clapboard floor and they rolled away from the door to escape one another.

A pair of pointed, tall black boots a few inches from Sarah's face made them stop. Sarah followed the boots up the legs and to the bemused face of a girl of eighteen. She wore a knee-length black skirt and blouse. Black curly hair ringed her pale face, and her dark purple eyes studied her with interest.

"That's a hell of an entrance," the girl commented.

Ruthven walked around the girl and helped untangle the pair on the floor. He pulled Sarah up by her arms onto her feet, and she looked around. The large room didn't resemble the brick facade along the alley. A stone fireplace stood on the right-hand wall, and in its hearth burned a bright, cheery fire that lit the room. Like the floor, the walls were covered in wooden boards, as was the ceiling. Wooden bookshelves hid many of the walls, but were interrupted by tall, narrow paned windows. A door stood behind them and there was another across the room that was also shut.

The furniture was haphazardly placed about the large room with tables and chairs grouped together or standing alone in a dark corner. Books and beakers were scattered across their tops. Some of the glasses were filled with thick, brackish liquid, others held greenish drinks.

Adam lay on a cot in the far left corner of the room. His face was scrunched up and he clutched at his chest.

Cate hurried over to him and grasped his arm. "Adam? Are you okay?"

His eyes opened and he smiled at her. "Good. You're okay." Ruthven came up behind Cate, and Adam's gentle gaze changed to anger. "What the hell did you-" he sat up and winced.

Ruthven smiled and held up his hand. "No need to thank me for saving your life. It was all in a night's work."

Adam clenched his teeth and glared at his 'friend.' "You asshole. I could have-"

"Died. Yes, I know," Ruthven finished for him.

"Hey you two, no arguing in my house unless it's over my beauty," the dark-clad woman scolded them. She jerked a thumb at Sarah and the firelight glistened off the dozens of rings on her slim fingers. "Besides, you haven't told me who this is."

Ruthven walked over and turned to the young girl before he set his hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Sarah, this is Maeve. Maeve, this is-"

"That's not my full name," the girl interrupted him.

He smiled and bowed his head to her. "My apologies, kind hostess. Sarah, this is Maeve, Mistress of the Mana and Witch of the Woozy. Maeve, this is Sarah, our new acquaintance."

Maeve held out one of her hands. "Nice to meet you."

Sarah stretched out her hand for the shake, but Ruthven grabbed her wrist. He drew her arm back and wagged his finger at Maeve. "Is that any way to treat your guest?"

Maeve smirked and shrugged. "I just wanted to see how trusting she was."

Sarah glanced between the pair and blinked. Ruthven noticed her expression and smiled. "Maeve's rings aren't just for show. Each of them holds a powerful potion capable of everything from rendering a person mute to killing them." The color drained from Sarah's face.

Maeve laughed and waved off Ruthven's words. "I wasn't going to use _that_ one. That's on my left hand. See?" She held up her left hand and wiggled her middle finger. A gold ring with a black center lay on that digit. "That's the bad one."

"So what were you going to do to me?" Sarah asked her.

Maeve shook her head. "Nothing. I just wanted to see how trusting you were. Looks like you haven't been around these guys-" she nodded at Ruthven, "-for very long, have you?"

"Adam met her two nights ago," Cate spoke up.

Maeve arched an eyebrow and a sly smile slipped onto her lips. "So Adam met her?" She spun around to face the man on the bed. "You sly dog. You know you're mine."

Adam swung his legs over the side of the bed and glared at her. "I'm not yours, or anyone else's."

The young girl shook her head and clucked her tongue. "Don't be like that. I don't want to have to use one of my potions to convince you otherwise."

He stood and leaned on Cate. "I'm not stupid enough to drink any of your concoctions, Maeve."

"I hate to interrupt such an interesting conversation, but we do have a Saint problem," Ruthven reminded them.

Maeve whirled around and narrowed her eyes at him. "Which one?"

He shrugged. "I'm afraid we're not exactly on intimate enough terms to know any of their names, nor even how many there are."

She gathered herself and frowned. "Well, if that's what brought you here what do you want from me?"

Ruthven nodded at the door opposite us. "I hope you won't mind but we're actually just passing through to home."

Maeve crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "My portals aren't meant to be used as pedestrian right-of-ways."

Ruthven gestured to Adam. "Even for your beloved?"

Her eyes flickered to Adam and she pursed her lips. "My beloved looks like hell. What happened to him?"

"A run-in with the Saint who followed us to the portal," Ruthven told her.

She frowned as she tilted her head to one side and studied him. "It was one of the Relics, wasn't it?"

The vampire nodded. "Yes."

Maeve strode over to one of the many tables and grabbed a beaker with red liquid. She picked up an empty vial and poured a healthy dose of the stuff into the empty vial. With the vial in hand she carried it over to Adam and held it out. "This isn't quite as good as the real thing, but it'll help."

Adam's gaze flickered from the vial to Maeve's face. "What's in it?"

A sly smiled slipped onto her lips. "No one you know."

He narrowed his eyes. "Maeve-" She held up her hand.

"It's not anyone, or anything, you know. This stuff came from my personal collection of Anemone Coronaria." He stared at her with a blank expression. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "A red poppy, now drink it."

Adam reluctantly took the vial and tipped his head back. He drained the whole vial and choked on the contents. Maeve smiled and patted him on the back. "That should get you healed up in a few nights, but don't go battling one of those Saints again. They're a tough bunch."

Ruthven glanced around them. "You wouldn't happen to have one of your specialty invisibility potions, would you?"

Maeve frowned. "Yeah, but what do you want it for?"

He smiled at her. "Merely to avoid another intrusion into your home, dear Maeve."

She sniffed the air. "Don't call me 'dear' anything, and I'm not giving it to you for free. That stuff isn't easy to make, you know." Her eyes flickered to Sarah. She strode up to the human and walked around her in circles as she admired her body. "Of course, if I could get a pinch of fresh, willing human blood, I'd give you a vial of the invisibility potion."

"No!" Everyone looked to Adam, the speaker of the firm refusal. He gathered himself and tossed the empty vial back to Maeve. "We'll be fine without the invisibility, but thanks for the flower medicine. I'm feeling better already."

She arched an eyebrow as she studied him. "Don't mention it. . ."

Adam grasped Cate's hand looked to Ruthven and Sarah. "We should go."

Ruthven nodded his head, but his red eyes bespoke his interest. "All right. Lead the way."

Adam led them to the rear door of the large room and opened the entrance. Sarah's eyes widened as she beheld the familiar hall of Ruthven's house. The three occupants walked through the door, and she made to follow them.

"Hey," Maeve called. Sarah paused and half-turned to the woman. Her arms were folded across her chest as Maeve looked into Sarah's eyes. "Watch Adam for me, okay? I'd hate for us to be rivals over a guy that got himself killed."

Sarah smiled and nodded. "I'll try."

She stepped through the entrance. The door shut behind her on its own.

Maeve half-turned from the door and furrowed his brow. "What's that idiot up to now?"

# 13

Sarah stepped out of the door and into the small entrance hall. The door slammed shut behind her and she looked back to see a simple door. She walked over and opened it. A coat closet presented itself to her.

"How is your little friend?" Ruthven asked Cate.

Cate looked down at the black bundle in her arms. "I think it's okay, but I don't have any food for it."

Ruthven smiled. "I'm sure we can find something for the kitten to eat."

Adam glanced at his friend. "Ruthven, why don't you take Cate to find some food in the kitchen? I want to talk to Sarah alone for a second."

Cate pursed her lips as she eyed her brother. "About what?"

"It's nothing you need to be worried about," he insisted.

She marched up to him. "I want to know." The kitten lifted its head and meowed.

Ruthven grasped Cate's shoulders and directed her down the hall. "Let's leave these two alone for a while and find some food for it."

As she was led away Cate glanced over her shoulder and glared at her brother. "Don't do anything dumb!"

Adam pursed his lips as he turned to Sarah. "There's something I need to tell you-"

"Mind if I get off my feet?" she requested before she strode into the parlor. Sarah plopped herself in one of the chairs and ran a hand through her hair. "What a night." She looked up as Adam entered the room. "I think I need to be brought up to speed on all of this. Who-or what-was Maeve? What were those portals we used? What are these Saints and why are they killing vampires?"

Adam grabbed the umbrella that sat by the archway and walked over to where she sat. He took her by the elbow and lifted her out of the chair. "You need to go," he told her as he steered her back out of the room.

She stumbled after him and frowned. "Go? After seeing all of that?"

They stopped at the front door where he turned her to face him. "It's because you saw all that that you need to go. If you learn any more you won't be able to get out of our world."

Sarah wrenched herself from his grasp and glared at him. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me-"

"You can't know!"

Sarah shrank back at the rough, loud tone of his voice. His eyes flashed with a strange mixture of red and yellow colors, and his teeth were longer than normal.

Adam sighed and held the umbrella out to her. "Apologize to your friend for me, okay? Tell her I have delicate skin."

Sarah's face fell as she looked from the umbrella to his steady gaze. "You know I can't forget all this, right? I just can't turn my back on everything I've seen and learned."

"You have to."

She lowered her eyes to the umbrella and bit her lower lip. Hot tears threatened to spill over onto her cheeks. "Am I that useless to you? Am I that much trouble?"

He gently grasped her chin and raised her eyes to his own. His voice was soft, a ghost of a whisper. "I don't-I can't let you into this world. The danger's too much, and if something. . .if something happened to you-" He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes before he turned his face away. His hand released her chin. "Please just go."

Sarah's heart fell. Her trembling hands wrenched the umbrella from his grasp. She turned and flung open the door to escape into the night.

Adam lifted his eyes and watched her race down the street. Away from him. Away from the danger.

Ruthven walked up the hall and paused beside the stairs. "You really think that was a wise thing to do?"

Adam shut the door and turned to his old friend. "I was just protecting her."

"From our world?" Ruthven guessed.

Adam shook his head as a flash of red color slipped across his eyes. "No, from me."

* * *

Tears streamed down Sarah's face as she ran from the old house. The umbrella and her bag slowed her down, and after only a block she was forced to a walking pace. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and glared at the dark streets ahead of her. "Who the hell does he think he is ordering me around like that?" she grumbled as she stomped through a puddle. "It's not like he knows me."

_But he knows his world_.

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" she snapped at the voice in her head.

_Like the last two nights?_

"Will you just shut up?" she growled. She passed a indigent-looking man in a doorway who looked at her with wide eyes.

Sarah ducked her head and walked faster. Her anger powered her like a steam engine and within the hour she was marching up the steps of her apartment building. She clomped down the hall and was perturbed when Mrs. Ardelio stuck her head out her apartment door.

"This isn't a marching band practice field!" she snapped at Sarah.

"It is now," the young woman replied as she stomped past the surprised old woman and to her own apartment.

Sarah slammed the door behind her and dropped her bag to the floor just as Jenny hurried from her room. Her pajama-attired roommate paused and looked from the dropped bag to her friend. "Rough night?"

"You wouldn't believe it. . ." Sarah muttered as she walked past her, but not before handing off the umbrella.

Jenny spun around. "You wanna-" She winced as Sarah slammed her bedroom door shut. "Guess not. . ."

Sarah ignored the state of her attire and flopped face-down on her bed. She glared at the closed window to her right that revealed the aging night. Dawn would come in a few hours, and with its work and play, and all that encompassed a normal life.

She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. "His world. . ." she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A hand shook her shoulder. "Sarah. _Sarah_."

Sarah turned over and groaned. "Not now, Jenny. I'll tell you about it later."

"Who's Jenny?"

Sarah's eyes flew open. She dove for the lamp and flicked the light on before she spun around.

Cate stood beside her bed with her body silhouetted by the window. In her arms was her small kitten with its yellow eyes that stared at her. The young girl sheepishly smiled and gave Sarah a small wave. "Hi."

Sarah grasped her chest over her swiftly-beating heart and stared blankly at the young girl. "Cate? What the hell are you doing here?"

Cate looked around the room and stroked the cat. "I wanted to see where you lived so I could visit you, so I followed you from the house."

Sarah frowned. "You didn't tell your brother you were coming here, did you?"

The young girl hung her head and bit her lower lip. "No. . ."

Sarah sighed and climbed to her feet. She felt like hell and, according to her wrinkled clothes, probably looked like a dog had mauled her. Or a dragon man. "Does he have a phone I can call before he starts tearing the city apart looking for you?" she asked her 'guest.'

Cate shook her head. "No, but Ruth has a phone."

Sarah shrugged. "All right, that'll work. What's the number?"

"I don't know." Sarah hung her head and groaned. Cate winced. "I'm really sorry about this. I just wanted to see where normal people lived."

Sarah sighed and patted the girl on the shoulder. "It's fine. I guess I can understand, but we've got to tell your brother where you are."

Cate glanced out the window and smiled. "It's going to be okay, at least until sunset."

Sarah looked past her at the open window. A hint of pink light lit up the sky. She glanced at Cate. "You guys can't go out in the sunlight?"

"Well, some of us can't, at least not without getting burned. Even a bunch of clothing won't stop us from getting burned," Cate told her.

Sarah ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "Then I guess you'll have to stay here while I go to work."

Cate tilted her head to one side and studied her. "What do you do?"

"I'm a teacher." Sarah glanced at the clock and sighed. Cate had woken her thirty minutes before her alarm was supposed to go off.

Her face lit up. "Like at a school?"

She stifled a yawn. "Yeah, a high school."

"Can I come with you?"

Sarah's yawn stuck at the largest point. She choked on her saliva and beat her fist against her chest before she looked up at Cate. "You want to what?"

"I want to come with you," she repeated. She looked down at herself. "Won't I fit in?"

Sarah pointed at the window. "What about the sunlight?"

Cate shook her head. "That doesn't effect me, only Adam." Sara's blank expression made the young woman smile. "Vampires who haven't stopped aging aren't as effected by the sun as those who have, like Adam."

Sarah ran a hand through her tangled hair and winced when her fingers got stuck. "Are you sure that's such a good idea going out with me?" she asked as she tugged at her hair. "I mean, what about last night?"

"She didn't attack us on the streets, so I don't think she'll attack us if we're at your work," Cate pointed out.

Sarah paused mid-battle and her eyes swept over Cate. "Adam told me that you two were vampires, or dragons, or something that sucked peoples' blood."

Cate lowered her eyes to the floor and bit her lower lip. "Yes, we are."

Sarah tilted her head to one side downward and caught her gaze. "You sure you can handle being around all those people? I'd like to fill my students with knowledge, not drain them of their life source."

"I don't really feel the hunger like my brother does, at least not yet," Cate assured her. She opened her mouth and poked a finger against the bottom of one of her canine teeth. "My fangs aren't even that well developed. I'd probably just end up chewing on them a little."

Sarah winced. "How about no touching of any kind, okay?"

Cate dropped her hand and nodded. "I can do that."

Sarah yanked her hand free of her hair and waved some strands of hair off her fingers. "All right, but you have to do everything I say, okay?"

Cate nodded. "You have my word as a Grayson that I will not cause any problems."

Sarah arched an eyebrow. "'Grayson?' Is that your last name?"

The young girl nodded. "Yeah. Adam told me it's really old, too. We get it from an old ancestor of ours."

"The vampire princess or the dragon lord?" Sarah wondered.

Cate shook her head. "Not those two. It's from an old guy a long time ago, but-" she sheepishly smiled, "-I kind of forgot the details. Oh!" Her eyes widened and she held up the tiny cat. "I hope you don't mind that I brought Arty along with me. I didn't want her to be lonely, and there wasn't that great a food in the kitchen, anyway."

Sarah arched an eyebrow. "'Arty?'"

Cate stroked the kitten tucked in her arm. "That's what I've named her. It's short for Artemis. That's just kind of the cat I thought she was." The kitten lifted its head and meowed. Cate laughed. "See? She likes it."

Sarah's eyes shot open. She slipped beside Cate and clapped a hand over the cat's mouth as she whipped her head to the door.

Cate furrowed her brow as she studied the tense woman. Sarah's unblinking eyes were glued to the door. "Are you-"

"Ssh!" Sarah hissed.

"Sarah!" came the call of her roommate. Jenny's heavy footsteps pounded across the hall and the door to the bedroom flung open. "Sarah, I think there's a-" She paused in the doorway as her eyes fell on the strange scene. She swept her gaze across the three players before they fell on the tiny kitten. A grin stretched across her face from ear to ear. "Kitten!" She rushed forward with arms open wide.

Sarah stepped between Jenny and the kitten and opened her arms as barriers. "It's not yours!"

Jenny stopped, but stood on her tiptoes to peek over her shoulder at the kitten. "Can I pet it? What's its name? Is it a boy or girl?"

Cate blinked at Jenny. "Um, her name's Artemis and yeah, I guess you can pet her."

Jenny whipped her head to Sarah and pointed at Cate. "She said I could pet it!"

Sarah rolled her eyes and dropped her arms. Jenny squealed and rushed past her. She stroked and scratched the kitten until the animal rumbled like a semi truck.

Jenny looked up at Cate and smiled. "You look a lot like Adam. Are you related?"

Cate nodded. "He's my older brother."

A sly smile slipped onto Jenny's lips as she glanced over her shoulder at Sarah. "Already bringing home the future sister-in-law to meet your beautiful and talented roommate, huh?"

Sarah glanced at her clock. "Actually, I was just taking her out for some breakfast and then she was going to go to work with me."

"What'll I do about Arty?" Cate wondered.

Jenny clasped her hands together in prayer and looked up at Cate with sad eyes. "Please let me take care of her. I promise I'll treat her like a furry queen."

Cate looked past Jenny at Sarah. Sarah sighed, but nodded. Jenny squealed as the furry bundle was handed to her. "So cute!"

Cate looked doubtful about this new arrangement, so Sarah grabbed her hand and led her from the room. "It's fine. Jenny would probably sacrifice her life to save a kitten from catching cold."

Jenny stuck her head out of the room. "And the sniffles!"

They reached the front door and Sarah picked up her bag from off the floor. She slung it over her shoulder as she turned to her roommate who had followed them. "We'll be back after school. Try not to let this thing escape."

Jenny pressed the kitten against her chest and rubbed her cheek against its face. "Don't hurry back."

Sarah only hoped there would be a kitten to come back to as she pulled Cate out the door.

# 14

Sarah hurried down the hall with Cate in tow. The door to Mrs. Ardelio's door opened and the old, peak-nosed woman stuck her long beak into the corridor. "What's all the racket about this early in the morning?"

"I'm just taking a friend to breakfast, Mrs. Ardelio," Sarah answered without stopping. Cate smiled and bowed her head to Ardelio as they passed.

Sarah led them downstairs and out onto the street where she released Cate. She cupped her chin in her hand and furrowed her brow. "Which cafe to go to. . ."

Cate looked up and down the streets. A few vehicles were parked close to them. "Which car is yours?"

Sarah raised her head. "I don't own a car."

The young girl tilted her head to one side and studied her companion. "Why not? I thought everyone owned a car now."

Sarah dropped her hands to her sides and shrugged. "I had a bad experience with one when I was a kid, so I don't really like them."

"What kind of bad experience?"

The young woman sighed and let her gaze fall on the middle of the road. "This one time I snuck out when I was eight." She gave a soft snort. "My parents always made me go to bed early, so I wanted to see what people did at night. Something across the street caught my attention, and I didn't look both ways when I was crossing. A car came down on me. I'd never been so terrified as I was then. I was completely frozen, and my brief years flashed before my eyes." She wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered. "I remember feeling the cold bumper against me."

Cate cringed. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I don't remember much, but I guess I kind of rolled off of it and ended up on the ground. That's why I don't like cars." Her eyes flickered back to Cate. "By the way, do you-you and Adam, that is-do you guys eat human food?"

Cate nodded. "Yes, and we can drink anything, too. We won't even get drunk."

Sarah arched an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Cate smiled. "Yes. My brother and Ruth tried to once. They drank a couple of cases before they decided they weren't going to get drunk, but they did both get sick." She covered her mouth to hide her laugh. "I was taking care of them for two days."

"So Ruthven can drink something other than blood, too?" Sarah asked her.

Cate nodded. "Yep, and he can eat food, too, but that makes him sick faster than drinking so he doesn't do it very much."

Sarah glanced at her watch and sighed. "I guess we should-" her eyes traveled down to her clothes and her heart skipped a beat. She grabbed the lower hem of her shirt and pulled it out to reveal the stains from the alley. "Shit! I can't go to work in this!"

"Did you need to buy some clothes? I wouldn't mind going shopping again," Cate suggested.

Sarah dropped the shirt and pulled out her wallet from her bag. She peeked inside. A few dollar bills stuck out. She cringed. "I don't exactly have the money to go shopping right now. I'm not even sure if I have enough for two breakfasts."

"I have some money."

Sarah raised her eyes and her eyebrows to the young girl. "Really?"

Cate drew out an aged leather wallet from her pants and held it out to Sarah. "It's not much, but Ruth gave me some money last night so I could do some real shopping next time I went out."

Sarah took the wallet and looked inside. Her eyes widened as she beheld several hundred-dollar bills. She whipped her head up. "This is what you've got?"

Cate's face fell. "Isn't it enough?"

Sarah snorted and held out the wallet. "It's more money than I make in a week."

Cate shook her head. "No, please keep it. You've been so nice to me that I want to help you."

"All right, let's make a deal." Sarah plucked the smallest denomination from the wallet. She grabbed Cate's hand and set the young girl's wallet in her palm as she looked into her eyes. "I'll let you treat us today because we're friends, but next time it's my treat, okay?"

Cate's face brightened and she nodded. "Yes!"

Sarah shoved the bill into her own wallet and looked up the street in the direction of the business district. "All right, let's get some food and clothes!" A car slowed down and the driver gawked at her appearance. She winced. "But maybe not in that order."

Together the pair walked uptown to the shopping district. The farther they walked the more Cate glanced around. Traffic picked up as the early-morning workers hurried to their jobs. The early birds hurried past the companions and caught their worms at the shops.

Sarah glanced to her left as Cate pressed her shoulder into hers. The young girl's eyes were wide as they flickered over every face that passed them. Sarah leaned toward her and lowered her voice to a whisper. "You okay?"

Cate bit her lower lip. "Do you think that woman might be around? The one who tried to kill us?"

Sarah pursed her lips and stared straight ahead. "I'm not really sure. If she's a vampire hunter than she might be sleeping." She furrowed her brow and looked to Cate. "Vampires _do_ sleep during the day, don't they?"

Cate nodded. "Yes. They don't really have much else to do."

"Good point. Anyway, I'm sure we won't find anyone we know-"

"Cate!"

Both women jumped at the call. They spun around and both breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Maeve walk up the sidewalk toward them. She wore the same attire as the previous night except for the black purse that hung from a strap over her shoulder.

Maeve stopped in front of them and looked from one to the other. "You two look like you've seen a ghost." Her eyes flickered to Sarah's attire. "But not a tailor."

"We thought you might be the Saint," Cate told her.

The young woman wrinkled her nose. "Don't compare me to those monsters. Poor in their planning and crude in their execution."

Sarah arched an eyebrow. "How do you know so much about them?"

Maeve frowned at her. "You don't move around the circles I do without learning who you're supposed to trust and who will curse you to death."

"And your circles include what?" Sarah wondered.

A pair of shoppers passed by them and eyed Sarah's attire with disdain. Maeve strode up to them and turned the girls in the opposite direction before she put her hands on their lower backs and pushed them along. "How about you stop attracting attention first, and then we'll talk. One of my doors is close by so you can borrow some of my clothes."

Sarah glanced over her shoulder and studied the dark goth attire of the young woman. "I think I'll violate a bunch of teacher dress codes if I go like that."

Maeve raised an eyebrow. "You're a teacher?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I didn't think stuffy people like that was his type."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "You sound like my roommate."

Maeve slipped between them and glared at Sarah. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means he's not my boyfriend, so you don't have to worry. Besides-" she glanced ahead and pursed her lips, "-he kind of kicked me out of your world last night. I'd say that pretty much ends any chance at a friendship, much less a romantic relationship."

Maeve looked ahead and turned up her nose. "You're a little too stupid for him, anyway."

Sarah whipped her head to the younger woman and frowned. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nobody can kick anybody out of _our_ world. We might work in the shadows, but that doesn't make us some sort of alternate universe," Maeve told her. The woman in black folded her arms and grinned as she eyed Sarah. "But you go on believing you need to leave. That'll make it easier for everybody."

Cate looped her arms around one of Sarah's and looked into her eyes. "You're not going to leave, are you? I'd really like it if you stuck around. I've never had this much fun."

Sarah pursed her lips and looked away from her. "I don't know. . ."

Maeve rolled her eyes. "You're older than both of us. Start acting like it and make up your mind what you're going to do."

"Aunt Maeve," Cate scolded her.

Maeve closed her eyes and shrugged. "Life's harsh. So am I. That's the way it is."

Sarah shook her head. "I need some more time to think about this. Besides, I need to get to work, so we'd better hurry."

Maeve opened her eyes and frowned. "Fine. Let's just get this over with so you can go back to your boring, normal life."

Cate bit her lower lip and looked up at Sarah. "Sarah. . ."

Sarah shook her head and walked up the street. Cate glanced at Maeve. "Can't you convince her to stay?"

She shook her head. "She has to be the one to make this choice, not me." She turned away from Cate and gave a wave of her hand as she walked away. "Tell me how it goes."

Cate's shoulders fell as Maeve disappeared into the crowd. She turned and found Sarah waiting for her a few yards down. She sighed and walked over to her new friend.

Sarah looked at the dejected girl and sighed. "Let's get this done and get to work."

# 15

"Cate! Cate!"

Adam's voice echoed all over the house as he opened every door on all the floors. The sun was up, but his sister was nowhere to be found. He rushed downstairs and found Ruthven at the bottom of the steps.

Adam grabbed his friend's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Do you know where Cate is?"

Ruthven smiled. "I'm sure she's fine."

Adam narrowed his eyes and they took on an unusual red tint. He spoke through sharp, gritted teeth. "Where is she?"

The vampire shook his head. "You're overacting, my-" Adam shoved his face into Ruthven's.

"Where is she?" he snarled.

Ruthven sighed. "She followed Sarah to her home."

Adam's eyes widened before he gritted his teeth. "And you let her leave?"

He shrugged. "She was very persuasive."

Adam shook him. "You know she's all I have!"

"And you're all she has, but that doesn't stop you from going out," Ruthven pointed out.

Adam glared at him and flung him aside. He turned toward the door, but Ruthven set his hand on his shoulder. "Wait."

Adam paused and looked over his shoulder. "Don't stop me."

Ruthven sighed and dropped his hand. "Just be careful. That Saint's tried to get you twice. A third time might be her lucky break."

"I'll be better off than Cate."

Ruthven nodded at Adam's chest. "Not with that wound. Maeve's drink might have improved your healing abilities, but you're not healed."

"I'll be fine." Adam turned away and strode up to the door. He placed his hand on the knob when a voice called him back.

"Adam." Adam turned around in time to catch a large black overcoat thrown by Ruthven. The vampire smiled. "Try not to get too bad a sunburn."

Adam tossed on the coat and nodded. He turned away and walked out the door. Ruthven followed him and stood in the doorway. The bright sun teased the edges of his shoes as he leaned his shoulder against the frame and watched Adam hurry down the brightly lit sidewalk. He sighed and shook his head.

"Don't get yourselves killed. . ."

* * *

A knock on the door made Jenny look up. She lay on the floor with the adorable kitten on its back in front of her. The knock came again, but harder and followed by several more pounds.

"I'm coming!" she called out as she slid the kitten behind a nearby living room chair.

Jenny stood and hurried over to the door. The pounding never stopped even as she grabbed the knob and turned. "This better not be a sales-" She opened the door and her eyes widened.

Before her stood a man with his head covered by a black trench coat. She couldn't see his face through the deep shadows, but a few streams of steam rose up from the front opening of the coat and floated to the ceiling in the hallway.

A hoarse voice spoke from the shadows. "Where's Sarah?"

Jenny frowned. "Who's asking for her?"

The figure paused for a moment. "A friend."

Jenny crossed her arms over her chest and leaned closer to get a look at his face. "Aren't you her boyfriend?"

The figure stiffened. "No."

Jenny straightened and shook her head. "Too bad. If you were I could've told you where she was."

"I don't have time for this," the stranger growled. "Just tell me where she is."

Jenny's eyebrows crashed down. She stepped back and grabbed the side of the door. "No." She tried to slam the door, but the man stretched out his hand and slammed his palm against the door.

Jenny's eyes widened as she beheld blackened flesh on the fingers. The figure stepped forward. His voice was tense. "Please tell me where she is. I. . .it's me, Adam."

A soft smile slipped onto Jenny's lips. "She should be at work right now. The high school a couple blocks south of here. You can't miss the prison walls."

He bowed his head and swung around to hurry down the hall.

"Hey, wait!"

Adam stopped and half-turned to her. He caught the umbrella thrown by Jenny. She grinned at him and gave him a wink. "For your sensitive skin."

He bowed his head and hurried on his way. Jenny shut the door and a small meow made her look down at her feet. The kitten sat by her side and looked up at her with its soft dark eyes.

"Yeah, I know, but I'll humor him for a while," Jenny replied. She stooped and scooped the kitten into her arms as she shut the door with her foot. "Now how about you and I get some milk, huh?"

The kitten looked up at her and meowed. She smiled and walked over to the kitchen, unaware that the kitten had turned its full attention to where Adam had gone.

* * *

"This is where you work?"

Sarah and Cate stood on the outskirts of the high school campus. Before them stretched the parking lot and thin strips of grass that wrapped around the buildings. Students and teachers alike shuffled through the doors with books and bags loading them down like ball and chains.

Sarah sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I know it's not much, but-"

"It's great!"

Sarah whipped her head to Cate and blinked at her. "Really?"

She looked up and nodded. A smile brightened her face. "Yeah. I've never seen so many people my age in one place."

Sarah winced. "Yeah, there's a lot of them. I still haven't figured out how that many hormones can be in one place at the same time without exploding."

Cate swept her eyes over the buildings. "Which one is your room?"

Sarah took a deep breath and grabbed tight the strap of her bag with both hands. "Let me show you."

They walked across the parking lot and joined the throngs that moved toward the doors.

"Miss Rennelle."

Sarah froze and the color drained from her face. She slowly turned around and found herself facing a six-foot tall middle-aged man in a gray suit. He had a pudgy face with sharp eyes that looked out beneath ragged-cut of grayed hair. The man stood ten feet back with his thick arms crossed over his broad chest.

She nervously smiled. "Hello, Mr. Grendel. What can I do for you?"

"Please follow me." His eyes fell on Cate and he frowned. "I don't recognize you."

Sarah cringed. "This is-um, this is-"

Cate smiled and walked up to Mr. Grendel where she held out her hand. "I'm Cate Rennelle, Sarah's cousin."

He arched an eyebrow as he shook her hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Rennelle, but may I ask what you're doing here when it's nearly time for school?"

"Well, Cousin Sarah was just going to show me her room and her students," Cate explained.

He looked past Cate at Sarah and narrowed his eyes. "About that. I need to speak with you about your unscheduled early release yesterday. What family matter was so urgent that you were derelict in your teaching duties?"

Sarah cringed. "I can explain-"

"She had to help me. My brother was hurt and I didn't know what to do," Cate spoke up. She bowed her head and bit her quivering lower lip. "He was bleeding everywhere. It was-" she sniffled, "-it was awful."

"Why didn't you call the police? Or an ambulance?" he questioned her.

She swallowed and looked up at him. "I kind of panicked and called the first number on the phone. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to get my cousin in trouble." She clasped her hands together and looked up at him with sad puppy dog eyes. "Please don't punish her. It's all my fault, really, and I promise I'll call anybody else again."

Grendel pursed his chubby lips together as he studied the young girl. "Let's hope that doesn't happen again. As for your cousin-" his eyes flickered to Sarah, "-I'm afraid I still have to place her on probation. Another incident like this and I'm afraid I'll have to let you go. While family matters are a high priority, the safety of your students is also important."

Sarah nodded. "I understand, sir."

"Good. Now get going. Class will be starting soon." He turned and strode down the sidewalk that circled the parking lot.

Sarah's shoulders drooped as Cate spun around and grinned at her. "Not bad, huh?"

The older woman pursed her lips. "You could have both put us into a lot of trouble if he found out how much of that wasn't the truth."

Cate shook her head. "That wasn't going to happen. Ruth taught me how to lie, and he's a good teacher."

Sarah ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "That guy. . ."

Cate blinked at her. "You don't like him?"

Sarah dropped her hand and shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think that guy is a bad influence, but in this case I'm glad he taught you, and he seems-well, nice, but he's a-well-"

"A vampire?" she finished.

Sarah cringed, but nodded. "Yeah. No offense. I mean, he's a little creepier than you are."

Cate smiled and shook her head. "It's all right. I know he's a little different than Adam and me. I think it's because he's been a vampire for so long."

Sarah arched an eyebrow and leaned close to the young girl. "How old _is_ he?"

Cate shrugged. "I'm not really sure, but sometimes he talks about ancient history like he was there. You know, like Rome and old England."

A bell rang in the distance. Sarah's eyes widened before she snatched Cate's hand and dragged her toward the doors. "We're late!"

The pair rushed inside and down the hall to Sarah's room. The students were all in attendance with some ram-rod straight in their chairs and others with their feet in the seats of other desk. They were talking loudly among themselves when Sarah hurried into the classroom with Cate behind her.

Sarah plopped her heavy bag on her desk and breathed a sigh of relief when the final bell rang. "Made it. . ."

Cate stood beside her and swept her eyes over the class. She leaned toward Sarah and lowered her voice. "They're all staring at me."

Sarah closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spun around. She opened her eyes and smiled at her class. "Good morning, class. I have someone I'd like you to meet." She set her hand on the small of Cate's back and guided her to the front of the room where they both faced the curious faces. "Say hello to my new student teacher, Cate Grayson."

One of the heavier boys leaned back and set his boots on the seat of a nearby empty chair. He looked Cate up and down and scoffed. "Isn't she a little young to be a teacher?"

Sarah smiled at the young man. "That might be true, Miles, but colleges have lowered their age requirements, and their standards, to fill seats. They might even take you if you graduate from high school." The class burst out laughing.

Miles frowned. "That ain't funny."

Sarah grabbed a wooden yardstick that leaned against the wall beside the white board and walked down the aisle where his legs stretched across. "And neither is boot scuffs on the chairs." She slid the yardstick under the bottom of the other desk and tipped it. The seat with his boots tipped toward him and forced him to bend his knees until his feet dropped out of the chair.

He jumped to his feet and glared at her. "You're not supposed to touch me!"

"She didn't touch you!" a girl spoke up.

Sarah set one point of the yardstick on the floor in front of her and leaned on it like it was an elegant cane. "She's right. I just touched the desk, but if you'd like to take it up with the principal then be my guest."

A dark look crossed over Miles's face, but he dropped back into his seat. Sarah turned to Cate and used the yardstick to point at her chair behind her desk. "You can sit there and observe for today, Miss Grayson. The rest of you, get out your-" A commotion in the hall caught everyone's attention.

# 16

Cate leapt to her feet and turned to the door behind her. Her eyes were wide and her body trembled. "Saint," she whispered.

"Stay in your seats," Sarah commanded as she strode around their desk. She caught Cate's attention and pointed at her chair. " _All_ of you."

Sarah opened the door and peeked out. The trouble lay at the opposite end of the hall. Grendel and another teacher stood in front of a dark figure. A few wisps of smoke rose from his arms and head. The person's face was covered by an overcoat, and above their head was a familiar pink umbrella.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? How did you get in here?" Grendel questioned him.

"Get out of my way," the person growled.

Sarah's heart skipped a beat. Even with the hoarseness and tension she recognized that voice. She leaned back inside the classroom and looked over her shoulder. "I'll be right back. Cate-Miss Grayson will watch you until I get back."

Cate took a step toward her. "Sarah-"

"Stay here," she commanded.

Sarah slipped out the door and sped-walked down the hall to the group. Grendel and the male teacher had the figure cornered.

"Answer me!" Grendel growled.

"Cousin Adam!" Sarah yelled.

The two captors turned at her call, and the figure raised their head. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks as his face was revealed to her. His flesh was scorched and burned thin. In some parts she could see the whites of his lower jaw bone. Her hands flew to her mouth to stifle her scream.

Grendel stepped between them as Adam bowed his head. The principal frowned at his young teacher. "Miss Rennelle, get back in to your class."

Sarah leaned to one side to see the figure. "I-I think that's my Cousin Adam, Mr. Grendel."

The principal frowned and half-turned to the dark-clad person. "Is this true?"

Adam nodded. "It's true."

"Then what are you doing here? How did you get in?" Grendel asked him.

"I-I think he's a little disoriented," Sarah spoke up. She slipped past Grendel and grasped one of Adam's arms. The young woman winced when she felt his skin crackle beneath her hands. She swallowed the lump in her throat and managed a quivering smile at her superior. "I'm really sorry. I'll just take him home right now-"

"You've already forgotten about your promise to me this morning," Grendel scolded her.

She winced. "I'm really sorry, Mr. Grendel, but-"

"Cate. . ." Adam whispered.

"Not right now," Sarah whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Adam raised his head to reveal his skeletal scorched face to all present. "Where is she?"

The male student screamed and raced down the hall. Grendel's eyes widened and he stepped back. Sarah took hold of his arm and pushed past Grendel. "I'm sorry, sir! I'll make it up to my students later!"

Sarah rushed down the hall with her injured companion stumbling along beside her. The whole school was alive with panicked voices as other teachers either locked their doors or hurried into the hall. Students shouted and the sounds of chair legs skidding on the ground was heard throughout the corridor.

When they were twenty feet away Cate peeked her head out Sarah's classroom. Her eyes widened as she beheld the figure beside her friend. "Adam!" She rushed forward and grasped his arms.

"Cate," Adam whispered.

Cate looked him up and down. "What are you doing out here? You know you can't be out in the sun!"

He raised the pink umbrella. That hand was as burned and skeletal as his face. "I had some help."

She shook her head. "But your hand! And your face!"

Sarah glanced around at her fellow teachers and the students who followed them. "Anatomy later. We need to get you two out of here."

"We have to get him somewhere shaded," Cate told her.

"I know just the place. Grab an arm and I'll take the other one," Sarah instructed her friend.

She escorted the troublesome duo through the exterior doors and across the parking lot. Adam stumbled along between them with tendrils of smoke pouring from him like he was a steam locomotive. They melded into the neighborhoods that surrounded the school didn't stop until they reached the deep, dark shade of an old maple tree in the wide expanse of a lawn. The two women set Adam on the ground.

Adam latched onto one of Cate's arms and raised his head. The flesh on his cheeks sizzled, but his eyes were as bright as ever as they studied his sister. "Why did you leave me?"

Cate's face fell as she dropped to her knees by his side. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry so much." She smiled and squeezed his hand. "But you didn't have to, you know. Didn't Ruth tell you I was going to follow Sarah?" She glanced over her shoulder at the young woman. "I was safe with-"

"You were NOT!" Adam boomed. Cate shrank away from him. He pursed his lips together and fell back against the trunk. "She can't protect you like I can. You have to understand that."

Cate cast her eyes to the ground and bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry. . ."

Adam sighed. "I know." He looked past his sister at Sarah and frowned. "You should have taken her back."

Sarah ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "I didn't have time, and it gave Cate a chance to see more of the world."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "That was not your decision to make."

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him. "Maybe if you'd made that decision a few years ago she wouldn't be so eager to see it now without you."

"Sarah. . ." Cate whispered as she nervously looked to her brother.

A flash of red and green colors swept through his eyes. He pressed his palm against the trunk and struggled to his feet. "I've had enough of this. We're done here."

Adam took a step forward and his knees buckled. He fell forward, but Sarah dove forward and caught him before he hit solid ground. "You idiot," she whispered.

He raised his head and glared at her. "Let me go."

A sly smile slid onto Sarah's lips. "All right."

She opened her arms. He dropped to the dirt like a sack of potatoes.

"Sarah!" Cate scolded her as she rushed to her brother's side.

Sarah shrugged. "He asked for it."

Cate leaned down and looked him over. "We have to get him to Maeve's house, or to Ruth. One of them should know what we can do for him."

Sarah sighed and knelt down in front of Adam and beside Cate. "Downtown's a pretty long way to drag him, and your house is even farther away."

"One of Maeve's doors is around here. We can take him there," Cate told her.

"All right. Help me get him on his feet and we'll each take an arm over our shoulders. We'll take the alleys so hopefully nobody will call the cops on us dragging a corpse around," Sarah suggested.

"I'm. . .I'm fine," Adam insisted. He slid his arms under him and pulled his shaking upper body off the ground. "I can do this alone."

"Maybe, but I'm not an ageless vampire so we're not waiting around for that to happen," Sarah snapped.

He gritted his teeth and slid his legs beneath him so he pushed himself onto his hands and knees. "I don't need your-" His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed face-first into the ground.

"Adam!" Cate screamed.

"Calm down!" Sarah commanded her as she pressed her fingers against his neck where his pulse lay. She winced. He had a pulse almost too weak to feel, but maybe that was normal. He was a vampire thing, after all. A quick look at his scrunched face made her breath a sigh of relief.

Cate whipped her head up to Sarah. "Is he okay?"

"I think he's just out," Sarah assured her, though she looked down at him with pursed lips. She couldn't tell herself how badly he was injured, but any lie that made her friend feel better made her feel better.

They hefted Adam onto his unsteady feet and pulled an arm over their shoulders. Cate pulled the coat over his head, Sarah held the pink umbrella over him, and together they set off into the scorching sun.

As they shuffled along Sarah glanced across their load at Cate. "So what are these doors, and how many are there?"

Cate shook her head. "I don't know how many there are, but they're portals Maeve created to keep her experiments safe."

Sarah arched an eyebrow. "So she's some sort of a scientist?"

Cate smiled. "I guess she's what you'd call a witch-scientist. She kind of blends the two to make her creations."

"So what _has_ she made besides the doors and that red drink?" Sarah asked her.

"I don't really know. Whenever I ask she always tells me I shouldn't be asking that," Cate admitted.

They dragged Adam's bulk down the alleyways and to an old, abandoned-looking bungalow. Its yard was full of dead weeds, cut according to a demand from the city, and the wrap-around porch sagged in several places. The property was surrounded by a three-foot tall wrought-iron fence which had long ago rusted.

Sarah looked over the place and frowned. "I've had nightmares that looked better looking than this place. . ."

"Help me get him inside," Cate told her.

A few crows stood on the railing and glared at them as they entered the yard. The steps groaned and creaked as they walked up them and to the door.

"Can you hold him while I get the key?" Cate asked her friend.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Why does this one have a key?"

"Maeve said some of the high schoolers kept breaking in, and some of them accidentally went to her home instead the house, so she has to keep it locked," Cate explained.

Sarah readjusted Adam's weight. "I'll hold him, but hurry."

Cate released him and scurried around the side of the house. Sarah glanced down at the heavy load at her side. His head was bent down and little bit of his scorched face was revealed. His eyes were shut tight and his teeth were gritted together.

Sarah sighed. "You're a lot of trouble. . ."

Cate returned with an old silver key in her hand. "Sorry for taking so long. I had to remember which crow it was in."

Sarah blinked at her before she shook her head and returned her attention to the door. "I don't want to know. . ."

Cate unlocked the door and swung it open. Sarah's eyes widened as she beheld not the wrecked interior of a ruined old house, but the large room of Maeve's messy home.

"I'll go in first," Cate offered as she slipped Adam's arm over her shoulders.

Together they side-stepped into the room just as the door opposite them opened. Maeve slipped into the room with a frown on her lips. Sarah caught a glimpse of a bedroom before Maeve shut the door behind herself. "What's going on now?"

"It's Adam. The sun got him," Cate explained as she and Sarah pulled him to the middle of the room.

Maeve walked up to him and pursed her lips. "Bring him over here, and shut that door. The damn leaves are getting inside."

# 17

Maeve made room in a chair, and the carriers dropped their cargo onto the seat. Cate hurried to close the door while Maeve tossed back Adam's hood. Sarah fought back bile as his grotesque features were revealed. His flesh was burned away from the top of his head down to the bone and what did cover his skull was bubbling.

Maeve pursed her lips before she glanced at Sarah. "Help me get the rest of the coat off."

Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat and helped ease Adam out of his overcoat. Where his flesh met the coat his body the cloth had to be pealed off. When they had finished he sat in the chair more a lump of bones and scorched flesh than man.

Cate watched the whole procedure with her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. . .I'm so sorry. . ." she whispered.

When they'd finished Maeve turned to her and nodded at a large black cauldron. "Get the cauldron on the fire and fill it half-full with water."

"Will he be okay?" Cate asked her.

Maeve snorted. "Probably, but he'll be feeling it for a few days even with my drink, now get that water boiling so I can make more of it. I don't have nearly enough for this much damage."

Cate hurried to do the woman's bidding while Maeve turned to Sarah. "You'll have to hold him down while I give him the first few doses."

Sarah frowned. "Why?"

Maeve glanced at Adam and pursed his lips. "Because he's not going to like it."

"Maeve, the fire won't start!" Cate called to her.

Maeve strode over to her side and knelt down before the large hearth. A large stack of split logs lay atop a metal cradle. Maeve picked up a small stick that lay beside the pile and set the tip over an end of one of the logs. A spark like that of a firecracker sprang from the end of the stick and lit the wood. The flames spread quickly over the logs and soon a hearty fire blazed in the hearth.

Maeve stood and tossed the stick into the fire. "That should work. Sarah and I will get him to take what I have and I'll start making the drink."

She fetched a few vials from a table between the fire and where Sarah stood, and returned to her. "Let's get him on the floor. That'll make it easier to hold him."

Together the pair pulled Adam from the chair and laid him on the floor. Maeve positioned herself at his head and nodded at his chest. "Hold down his arms while I pour these into his mouth."

Sarah frowned. "How can I hold him down? I mean, isn't he a vampire, and I'm just a-well, a normal human."

Maeve snorted. "In this sorry state he's probably as weak as a baby, now hold him."

Sarah pinned one arm and leaned over his chest to pin the other. Maeve popped the cork on one of the vials and opened his mouth. She stuffed the mouth of the glass into his mouth and clapped his jaws together. His throat moved as he swallowed the drink.

His eyes flew open. Their depths were as red as blood. He clenched his fists and squirmed beneath Sarah. Maeve pulled the empty vial from his mouth and scrambled back. Sarah pressed herself against his chest to pin him down.

Adam's burning eyes fell on her. He curled his lips back in a lecherous grin that revealed a single long fang. Sarah gasped and drew back just as he wrenched himself from her hold. He grabbed her arms and rolled them over so she lay beneath him. His flesh changed from black to pink and spread over the revealed bones.

"Sarah!" Cate yelled as she rushed forward. Maeve held out her arm and stopped the young girl. Cate frowned at her. "What are you doing? We need to help her!" Maeve pressed her finger to her lips and shook her head.

Sarah glanced at her friends. "Get him off-" Adam growled.

Her pulse quickened as he leaned down and brushed his lips against the side of her throat. His warm tongue flicked out and slipped against her trembling flesh. She closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath as her body was consumed by lust.

Sarah gasped as his fangs nicked her skin. "Adam. . ."

He froze. She opened her eyes at the same time his rolled back and closed. His head dropped into her neck and he lay still.

Sarah looked into his tense face and blinked at him. "Adam? Adam, are you okay?"

"He's out," Maeve spoke up.

Sarah turned her head to the side and glared at the other young woman. "Is that the same professional opinion that gave me the 'weak as a baby' advice?"

She grinned and shrugged. "I did say 'probably.'"

"Well, could you 'probably' get him off me?" Sarah asked her.

Maeve smiled as she looked over her shoulder at Cate. "Help me roll him over."

Together the three of them rolled Adam's limp body off Sarah and onto his back. Maeve knelt by his side as Sarah sat up with Cate beside her. The young witch lay her palm against the new pink flesh that covered his face and hands.

"Is he okay?" Cate asked her.

Maeve dropped her hand and furrowed her brow. "He's improved, but he's still very weak."

"Can he go home?" Cate wondered.

Maeve turned to the pair and shook her head. "I don't think so. We need to keep him still and let the drink do its work."

Sarah rubbed her neck where she still felt the points of his fangs. "What about giving him that other vial?"

Maeve grinned. "Do you really want to try that again?"

"I'd rather relive college, pimples and all."

"Quite an amusing picture, but I'll take that as a 'no,'" Maeve guessed. She looked to Cate and her expression softened. "You look like you could use a rest yourself."

Cate shook her head. "I'm not tired-" a yawn broke her sentence, "-not tired at all."

"You're not used to staying up this late, are you?" Maeve guessed. Cate looked down at the floor and shook her head. Maeve stood and offered her hand to the young girl. "Let me take you to my bedroom where you can sleep."

Cate looked past Maeve at her brother. "But what about Adam?"

"He'll be just fine on the floor, and anyway, there's only enough room on the bed for one sleepy Blood Dragon," Maeve pointed out.

Cate pursed her lips, but took Maeve's hand. Together they walked over to the door where Maeve paused and glanced over her shoulder at Sarah. The young woman still sat on the floor, and her eyes were glued to Adam. "I wouldn't touch him if I were you."

Sarah glared at her. "I wasn't going to."

A sly smile slipped onto Maeve's lips. "I'm sure you weren't. I'll be right back."

Cate and Maeve disappeared through the door, and all was quiet. Sarah's shoulders slumped and she bowed her head. A sigh escaped her parted lips as she ran a hand through her hair. "How'd you get yourself into this mess? Seriously, Sarah, you'll be lucky to have a job. Hell, an apartment. And for what?" Her eyes flickered over to Adam.

_It was worth it_.

She rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"Talking to yourself is a sure sign of insanity." Sarah jumped and whipped her head around to the door. Maeve finished shutting it and walked over to Sarah where she took a seat on the floor beside her. She tilted her head to one side and looked over her older guest. "So?"

Sarah frowned. "'So' what?"

"So what have you decided?"

Sarah blinked at her. "Decided about what?"

Maeve rolled her eyes. "Are you really that dumb? Are you going to stay in 'our' world, or not?"

Sarah shrugged. "I hadn't really thought about it."

The younger woman scoffed. "Do you think I was born yesterday under a dumb star?"

Sarah leaned back on her arms and pursed her lips. "I. . .I was wondering about vampires, and Blood Dragons, and-well, you."

"Are you sure you should be thinking about that stuff? It might be digging too deep into _our_ world," Maeve pointed out.

Sarah glanced over at Adam before she returned her attention to Maeve and shrugged. "I don't really have much else to do right now."

A small smile slipped onto Maeve's lips. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. "You were thinking about me? I'm flattered."

"I asked Cate about you, and she told me you were a witch-scientist," Sarah admitted.

Maeve laughed and nodded. "I guess that's as good a description as anything, but I prefer the term alchemist. I always need a conduit for my abilities."

"Like that stick for the fire?" Sarah guessed.

Maeve nodded. "That and all my potions." She swept her eyes over the many filled tables and chairs and smiled. "My life's work is here. All my trial and error, and some successes."

Sarah glanced at Adam. "Like that fake blood you gave to Adam." She returned her attention to Maeve. "Does it work like the real stuff?"

Maeve shook her head. "No, at least not quite. I'm still trying to perfect the mixture so it will be a an exact substitute."

"Why create something like that?" Sarah asked her.

Maeve shrugged. "Why not? Besides, vampires are always risking the rest of us by needing to feed. If I make a perfect copy all they'll need to do is go to the cupboard and grab a drink of my potion instead of wandering the streets looking for a neck to bite."

Sarah furrowed her brow. "What about those Saints people? The ones stalking the vampires. What are they exactly and what is that dragon creature one of them has with her?"

The young woman frowned and stared ahead. "The Saints are human like you, but they've created a pact with a dragon. The dragon acts as their protector while they share their life force with the dragon, strengthening his power and theirs."

"That doesn't sound so bad except for them going around killing vampires," Sarah commented.

"Destroying."

"Pardon?"

Maeve sighed. "Vampires are already dead, and yet not. Like other creatures between the light and dark they can only be destroyed."

"But Cate isn't dead," Sarah pointed out.

Maeve set her chin on her knees and raised her eyebrows. "She's a special case. A Blood Dragon is born living and their life force is slowly fed to their vampire half until nothing remains. That increases their vampiric abilities far beyond that of normal vampires."

Sarah frowned. "So they can't stop that? The dying?"

Maeve shook her head. "Nope. They're stuck with that fate."

Sarah winced. "Damn. So what about that dragon-" Her stomach interrupted her question with a loud rumble.

Maeve raised her head and grinned at her. "Hungry?"

Sarah stood and stretched her arms above her head. "Starved. Carrying Adam around isn't easy. How about I get us something to eat? Keeping care of an idiot really builds up the appetite."

"You can use the business district door to get us some food," Maeve suggested.

Sarah turned to the door and furrowed her brow. She looked to Maeve and nodded her head at the entrance. "How exactly do I get to that particular door?"

"You imagine where you want to go and it takes you there," Maeve told her.

Sarah glanced back at the door and winced. "So what if I imagine something like-say-Santa Claus? It'll open a door to the North Pole?"

Maeve rolled her eyes and stood. "It can only open a portal where I've created them, and I haven't been there."

Sarah took a deep breath, grabbed the knob, and opened it. Before her was the alley from the previous night. She stepped out and the door shut behind her.

As Sarah walked toward the street a shadow loomed overhead. Andrea knelt on the top of the roof of one of the buildings and watched Sarah. A sly grin slid onto her cunning lips.

"About time."

# 18

Maeve paced before the fireplace with a dark cloud over her brow. She paused and glanced at her watch. "How long does it take her to get food?" A single loud pounding sound brought her attention to the door. She whipped her head up and frowned. "Did she forget how to use the door already?"

Maeve strode to the door and tapped a finger on the wood. A small peephole appeared at eye level, and she peered through it. The hole didn't look only straight, but surveyed the entire area like a telescope. There was no one there.

Maeve opened the door and started back when a piece of paper flapped loudly beside her. The paper was nailed to the door. She leaned toward it and read the short message scrawled on its surface. Her eyes lit up. She snatched the paper from its nail and stepped back inside. The door shut of its own accord as she hurried to the unconscious man who still lay on the floor.

She slid down to his side and grabbed both his shoulders. "Adam! Adam, wake up!"

He groaned and tried to turn over. "Ten more minutes, Ruthven."

Maeve raised her hand and brought it down for a cheek strike. The slapping sound reverberated throughout the room. Adam's eyes shot open and he sat up, nearly knocking his forehead and her nose together. He blinked up at Maeve. Her lips were pursed and her eyebrows were so far down they nearly touched. His still heart would have skipped a beat if it could. "What's wrong? Is it Cate?"

Maeve shoved the note in his face. "Read this."

He frowned, but took the paper and read over the brief contents:

* * *

_Vampire,_

* * *

_I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the human you rescued is still mine. As a last request I'll let you, and your other vampire friend, see her one last time. Meet me at Warehouse 13 at the wharf after sunset. I wouldn't want the sun to burn your precious blood. See you there._

* * *

Adam's eyes widened. He whipped his head up to look at Maeve. "What happened?"

"She went out an hour ago to get some food. That must have been when they got her." Maeve stood and balled her hands into fists at her side. "It's my fault. I should have known they'd be watching that door."

Adam crumpled the note in his hand and frowned. "Damn it. . ."

Maeve studied his face. "What are you going to do?"

He shook his head. "I don't have much of a choice, do I? I have to go."

"But in your condition-"

"Screw my condition." He stood and swayed a little before he caught his balance. "What time is it?"

She grabbed his shoulders and held him steady. "It's only nine. You can get some rest for a few hours and I'll-"

"No!" Maeve started back at the yell. Adam took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "I need to go save her."

She frowned and reached into her pocket. "Forgive me."

He furrowed his brow. "For what?"

"This." She drew out her hand and tossed a handful of dust into his face.

Adam started back and stumbled over his own shaky legs. "What are-" The world around him began to spin. He clutched his head as his vision blurred. "Maeve, what did you-" His eyes rolled back and he fell forward.

Maeve caught him and lowered him back to the floor. "Sorry, love, but I can't let you get yourself killed. Not yet, at least."

Maeve stood and strode over to the door. She opened it, and this time it led to Ruthven's home. Maeve stepped into the hall and hurried to the steps. She set one hand on the banister when a voice from the parlor made her pause.

"So he's in trouble again?" Ruthven called to her.

Maeve walked into the side room and found Ruthven standing on one side of the mantel. His arm leaned against the wide wood above the hearth and there was a smile on his lips. "What's he done now?"

Maeve stopped in the archway and shook her head. "It's not him, it's that girl."

Ruthven arched an eyebrow and the smile slipped from his lips. "Sarah?"

She nodded. "Yeah. She got herself caught by the Saint that's been chasing Adam, and now they're holding her until you and Adam come get her tonight at the wharf."

Ruthven dropped his arm and pursed his lips. "What's Adam done?"

She shrugged. "Only tried to get himself killed by going after her before I knocked him out. The sun burnt him pretty bad, and a fight with a dragon might kill him." She sighed and shook her head. "Hell, it probably will."

"You're going to have to let him go."

Maeve whipped her head up and glared at him. "And let him get himself killed?"

"He's risked his life once for her even before he knew her. I don't think he's going to let her sit there to be killed by that pair."

Maeve took a step toward him and scowled at the vampire. "But what's so important about this girl? She's just another human."

He shrugged. "Only Adam knows why, and you've made sure his mouth is shut for quite some time."

She half-turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. "And he's going to stay that way if he's going to keep trying to get to her."

Ruthven smiled. "Would it be any consolation if I were to go? I am invited, after all, and it'd be rude of me not to accept such a kind invitation."

"Then I'm going to," Maeve insisted.

"Isn't it a little foolish to risk them knowing who you are?" he pointed out.

She pursed her lips and turned her face away. Her words slipped out like a hiss. "Why'd that idiot have to go and rescue that stupid girl. . ."

Ruthven walked over to her and set his hand on her shoulder. She glanced back at him. "I promise nothing will happen to him, and you know I never break my promises."

She stood still for a moment before her shoulders slumped and she sighed. "Fine, but don't take too long down there, or I _will_ be going after you."

He stepped back and gave her a sweeping bow. "As you wish, Mistress of the Mana."

* * *

Adam fought against the drowsiness that surrounded his foggy mind. Sarah was in trouble. She needed him. He clenched his teeth and forced his eyes open.

Ruthven stared down at him with a smile on his pale lips. "Good evening."

Adam sat up and looked around. He still lay on the floor of Maeve's home. Ruthven stood beside him. Maeve stood near the main door to the room.

Adam looked up at his old friend. "What time is it?"

Ruthven knelt beside him and met his gaze. "Almost sunset." Adam's eyes widened. He tried to stand, but Ruthven put his hand on Adam's shoulder and pushed him back to the floor. "Not so fast, hero. We have to lay a couple of ground-rules before we go."

Adam narrowed his eyes and his lips curled back in a snarl. "Let go of me, Ruthven."

Ruthven shook his head. "You can't save her by getting yourself killed the moment you step into that warehouse, at least not alone. I'm going with you."

Adam pursed his lips. "I can't ask you to-"

"You're not asking me, I'm coming." Ruthven stood and held out his hand to Adam. A sly smile slipped onto his lips. "Are you coming or not?"

Adam returned the smile with a crooked grin as he slapped his hand into Ruthven's. "We're going."

"One of my doors is a block away from the wharf," Maeve spoke up.

Ruthven helped adam up, and the pair walked over to Maeve. "I owe you one, Maeve," Adam told her.

Maeve grabbed the handle to her door and glared at him. "Just get your sorry ass back here."

Adam leaned down and pecked a kiss on her cheek. She blushed as he leaned back and smiled at her. "Thanks for everything."

She shook herself and frowned at him. "Just get back, and don't forget that stupid girl."

She opened the door and revealed a new dark alley. The men walked through the door and Maeve shut it behind him. She leaned her back against the exit and bowed her head. A loose tear slipped down her cheek.

"Stupid Blood Dragon. . ."

# 19

Sarah woke up with a splitting headache that centered on the back of her head. The last thing she remembered was walking down the alley away from the door, and suddenly a shadow flew over her. Then there was a hard knock where her headache originated, followed by her waking up wherever she was now.

Her eyes creaked open and she lifted her aching head. She was surrounded by large stacks of four-foot square wood crates. They stretched high above her head but stopped well short of the open-beamed metal ceiling. The long lights hung down from the top and spread their sick florescent color over her. Long rows of windows near the top of the building showed it was dark outside.

Sarah herself sat in a metal chair with a hard seat. She shifted and found her hands were tied behind the back of the chair, and her ankles were also tied together.

"Don't bother."

Sarah whipped her head up. Two figures, one small and one large, stood in the shadows of a stack of crates. The small one stepped forward and revealed herself to be the persistent Saint. Sarah's heart skipped a beat as the woman's dragon companion stepped into the light. His wings were tucked against his back and his clawed hands hung by his sides. He looked at her with his yellow eyes without blinking.

"You can't get out of those ropes, at least not until that scum you hang around with comes," the woman commented as she circled Sarah's chair. She stopped beside her and set a hand on the back. "That is, _if_ he comes."

Sarah frowned. "Why don't you just leave him alone? He hasn't done anything to you."

The woman turned up her nose and glared down at her. "Vampires can live because they hurt humans. That's the definition of a monster, and because of that they need to be destroyed."

'But they're just like us!" Sarah insisted.

"Liar!" the woman snapped.

"I'm not lying! I've seen it with-" The woman pushed against Sarah's chair and toppled her to the ground. Sarah cringed as her shoulder hit the hard cement floor.

The woman knelt beside Sarah and grabbed her chin and turned her head so they faced each other. "You stupid little girl! You don't know anything! You're just a sorry human who got caught up in this-"

"And you'd kill me for that," Sarah whispered as she met the woman's gaze with her own steady one. " _Now_ who's the monster?"

She stomped up to her dragon where she paused. The woman turned her head slightly toward him and eyes flickered to his impassive face. "No matter what happens, kill her." He nodded.

"Damn it. . ." Sarah murmured. She fought back tears of frustration and fear as she glanced up at the high windows. "Please come, Adam. Please. . ."

* * *

Adam and Ruthven paused side-by-side. Behind them was a row of warehouses that abutted the street. Before them stood a wide expanse of concrete and another row of warehouses. A few forklifts and crates of cargo were placed against the buildings, and there were tanks of gas with which to fill the machines along the sides of every other buildings, but otherwise the area was empty. Beyond the emptiness lay the wharf with its large ships and docks. The warehouse they wanted, number thirteen, stood before them on the opposite side of the concrete clearing.

Ruthven glanced at Adam. "Are you ready for this?"

Adam pursed his lips. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Ruthven smiled. "You could always let me handle things."

Adam shook his head. "No. She's. . .she's my responsibility. I brought her this far, so I have to take her out."

"Are you sure she wants to be taken out?" Ruthven challenged him.

Adam clenched his hands into fists at his sides. "It doesn't matter what she wants. She's leaving. That's it."

"Such a serious conversation."

The vampires whipped their heads to their right. A stack of two crates stood in front of the adjoining building. Atop them, seated cross-legged with a smile on his face, was a thin man with rainbow-colored hair. Behind him stood a young girl.

The man stood and bowed his head to them. "Good evening, my worthy prey. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Maurice, one of the legendary Saints."

"Two Saints. Damn it. . ." Adam muttered as he turned to face the newcomer.

Maurice laughed. "Don't be so concerned. It's because there's two of you that I'm here. I'm afraid my young coworker doesn't know what she's going up against dealing with two vampires at once, so I've come to help her."

Adam narrowed his eyes and took a step toward the Saint. A heavy hand on his shoulder made him stop, and he looked behind him at Ruthven.

"Let me handle this one. You don't want to be late for your appointment," Ruthven told him.

Adam pursed his lips. "You're sure?"

The vampire smiled. "Have you forgotten to whom you speak?"

Adam's eyes flickered to the Saint. "Just don't get yourself killed."

"I make no promises," Ruthven teased.

Adam turned away from the battle and hurried to the warehouse where he disappeared inside. Ruthven returned his attention to the jester and his little helper.

Maurice grinned at him. "What game would you like to play first, Mr. Vampire?"

Ruthven took a few steps to his right so they faced each other across the wide expanse of concrete. "I believe the host provides the entertainment."

Maurice bowed his head. "You are correct. For our first game-"

"Don't be too hasty in your choice. There will be only one game," Ruthven warned him.

The Saint frowned. "Don't tell me you won't last that long. How disappointing."

Ruthven chuckled. "Start the game, and I will show you why there will be only one."

Maurice shrugged. "All right. For my first game we will play tag. My associate here-" he gestured to the girl who stepped forward to stand beside him, "-will be 'it.' Try not to let her touch you, or it'll be more than game over." He snapped his fingers.

The girl leapt off the crates and landed a foot in front of Ruthven. The vampire's eyes widened and he jumped back as she swiped her hand in front of her. A spray of red liquid splattered the ground where Ruthven had stood.

His nostrils flared. "Blood-" The girl rushed forward and swiped both hands at him, throwing the blood in the air before her.

Ruthven ducked and dodged, but some of the liquid fell on his bare hands and face. He cried out and flew back thirty feet. Streams of black smoke floated up from where the blood had landed on him, and his flesh boiled like acid had struck it.

Maurice laughed. "Do you like it? Her blood is like acid to vampires because it's been infused with holy water."

Ruthven stood straight and smiled as he covered some of his burns with one hand. "Very impressive. I'd like to see what else she can do, but I'm afraid I did promise you only one game."

"But you've already lost this one. She touched you," Maurice pointed out.

Ruthven shook his head. "A touch is a touch, my friend. Until her hand touches me we still play this game."

Maurice sighed and shrugged. "If you insist, but I don't think you're very good at it. I mean, it looks like you're going all to pieces." He tilted his head back and laughed.

Ruthven dropped his arms to his side and closed his eyes. His wounds stopped their boiling and closed, stopping the streams of smoke.

Maurice arched an eyebrow. "Impressive healing abilities, but it won't save you when your head is severed from your neck."

Ruthven opened his eyes. They glowed like hot coals. He curled his lips back and revealed his long fangs. "Allow me to impress you further."

The vampire raised his hand and drew one of his sharp fingernails down his cheek. A thin line of blood trailed down his cheek and onto his finger.

The girl tensed and drew back her arm for another strike. One moment her prey stood in front of her, and the next he was at her side. Her eyes widened and she turned her head to face him.

He slipped his finger down her cheek, dragging his blood along her skin. She jumped back and pressed her hand to her cheek, drawing it back to see the blood on her palm. Her eyes widened as she watched the blood spread across her flesh and covered her hand, but it didn't stop there. She gasped and clawed at the blood as it slid up her arm and across her chest. The blood traveled down her body before it crept up toward her head. Her breaths came out in quick pants as she writhed and twisted in the grasp of the thick liquid.

The girl raised her chin against the tide of blood, but her head was swallowed. Her lips let loose a blood-curdling scream as she was completely engulfed.

Maurice watched his protege stumble around like a madwoman, her hands slapping at nothing but the thin bit of blood in one palm. Then she screamed, a terrible, suffocating sound, and collapsed to the ground. He rushed over to her and drew her into his arms.

"Benedicta! Wake up!" he called out.

Soft footsteps walked up to them. Maurice lifted his eyes and found himself staring into the smiling face of the vampire. Ruthven wiped off the blood that remained on his cheek. The wound was already healed. "My apologies for being so impolite to a woman, but her impressive skills left me with little choice."

Maurice narrowed his eyes. "What have you done to her?"

Ruthven shrugged. "Merely a bit of blood work. She should be fine in a few hours."

The ground shook as the air filled the noise of a terrible explosion. The twinkling and cracking of glass resounded across the wharf. The participants whipped their heads together the warehouse in time to watch the broken glass windows rain down on the walls around the building. The smell of smoke permeated the air and the flames could be seen through the broken windows.

Ruthven stumbled and caught himself before he fell. In the distance he could hear the call of the fire stations.

Maurice slipped his arms beneath the young girl and lifted her up. He bowed his head to the vampire. "That's our cue to leave, but next time we meet we'll play another game, and this time I'll win." He turned away and disappeared between the roadside warehouses.

Ruthven looked back to the burning warehouse and pursed his lips. There was no sign of his friends. "What the hell are you doing in there?"

# 20

What the pair were doing was barely surviving. Adam had hurried into the warehouse, but he paused when he found himself presented with thirty thousand square feet of maze created by the numerous stacks of crates. The crates cast shadows over the corridors between them, shadows large enough to hide an ambush.

"Sarah!" he called out.

"Adam!" came her reply. "Don't come in here! It's a trap!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

Adam hunkered down and sprang upward. His powerful legs flew him twenty feet into the air and onto the top of a stack of crates. He landed with a thump on both feet. The vibration ran up his body and he winced and clutched his chest as his wound complained.

"Problems, vampire?" a voice spoke up.

He whipped his head up. The woman with her dragon man behind her stood atop another stack some fifty feet away from him. Her arms were folded in front of her and there was a smirk on her lips.

"About time you showed up. I was starting to think you were going to leave that woman to die alone," she commented.

Adam narrowed his eyes. "Let her go. Your fight is with me."

She lifted her nose and sneered at him. "I don't think so. I can't have witnesses, and I can't stand humans who side with you demons." She glanced over her shoulder at the dragon and nodded.

The dragon unfurled his wings and pushed off from the crate. He stretched out his claws to grab Adam's neck, but Adam dodged to one side. In doing so, he lost his balance and fell down into a corridor between the crates. The dragon landed five feet away and picked up one of the crates. He wrenched it from between two others, causing them to topple over behind him.

Adam's eyes widened as the dragon drew back his arms with the crate over his head and swung them forward. The crate flew at him. He rolled out of the way, but the edge of the wood caught him in the shoulder. It tore his shirt and cut a deep gash into his flesh. The crate crashed into the floor behind him and spewed its contents onto the cement. Engine parts spilled out and littered the floor.

Adam clutched his bleeding shoulder as he climbed to his feet. The dragon man lunged at him with claws outstretched. Adam grabbed his opponent's hands and dug his heels into the floor. He slid backward a few feet with their hands clasped together before he got a grip on the cement.

The woman's shadow stretched across them as she stood on the crates high above the pair. "You should know my name before you die, vampire. It's Andrea. Tell the devil I'll be bringing more of you to him soon enough."

Adam gritted his teeth and glared at the dragon man before him. "Tell him yourself."

Adam shoved his opponent back and turned to Andrea. He leapt upward, but the dragon man lunged at him and wrapped his clawed hand around one of Adam's ankles. The dragon pulled him back and swung around in a few circles before he released him. The force slammed Adam through several crates before he crashed into one that contained engine blocks.

Sarah listened to the horrible sounds of fighting and Andrea's bold statement with a quickened pulse. She screamed as the crates beside her exploded as Adam was thrown threw them. He smacked into a stack close beside her and slumped over. His eyes were closed and blood poured from a nasty gash in his forehead.

"Adam!" she yelled.

Andrea appeared over the tops of the crates while her dragon stomped through the destruction. She sneered down at the pair, human and vampire. "Kill them both."

The dragon stomped over to Sarah and wrapped his hand around her throat. She gasped as he lifted her, chair and all, three feet off the floor. He tightened his grip and cut off her air supply. Her lungs pleaded for air as the world around her began to spin around. She mouthed her fruitless pleas, but she didn't have the air to make them into words.

_Please don't do this. Don't let me die._

A terrible roar caught the attention of Andrea and her dragon. The dragon turned his head in time for a punch to land squarely between his eyes. He howled and stumbled back, releasing his prisoner. Sarah dropped to the ground onto her side. She coughed as air was pushed back into her lungs.

Adam stood over her. Half his face and side were covered in blood, and his eyes glowed with a strange mixture of yellow and red. "Leave her alone," he growled.

The dragon man caught himself and snarled. He wrenched another crate from a stack and threw it at Adam.

Adam swept up Sarah in her chair and carried her out of the way. The dragon man roared and kept up his throwing with his endless supply of crates. Adam gritted his teeth and leapt on top of a tall stack of the wooden boxes. He tore the ropes off Sarah's arms and grabbed the chair in time to throw it at an incoming crate. Metal crashed into wood and broke open the metal contents. The floor was now littered with auto parts.

The dragon roared and grabbed the partially broken crate of engine blocks. Adam and Sarah stood atop that pile, but he swept her into his arms and leapt to another stack as the dragon yanked out the broken crate. The dragon threw it at them, but his aim was off. Adam needed to only duck to escape the crate's trajectory.

The force of the throw meant the crate of heavy machinery flew the width of the warehouse and crashed through an exterior wall. Right where one of the fuel tanks sat.

The crate punctured the tank and the pressure and flammable material were released in a massive explosion that threw everyone back. Crates and machinery parts flew everywhere as sharp and blunt projectiles. Adam leapt off the crates and covered Sarah's body with his own as the bits flew over their heads.

Andrew was pushed off her perch and landed hard on the ground. The dragon man, too, covered her body with his own as the metal rained down on them.

The explosion left a gaping hole in one side of the warehouse. Beams and jagged bits of siding metal hung by a thread as it all threatened to drop into the gap.

Adam rolled off Sarah, and she sat up and choked on the dust and smoke. The wooden crates were now more splinters than boxes. Both sides of the building had collapsed inward, blocking the exits. The windows were too high to reach.

Sarah heard Adam take a ragged breath of air. She turned to him and gasped. He was covered in gashes and bits of metal stuck out of his skin. His face was pale and he clutched his chest over his old wound.

Sarah grabbed his upper arms and looked him over. "Are you okay?"

He shifted and winced. "I don't think so." He turned his hand over that held his chest and revealed a fresh puddle of blood in his palm.

Sarah's heart skipped a beat. "We have to get you out of here."

A noise twenty feet off caught her attention. A large slab of sheeting metal slid away from them. The dragon man threw the rest of the metal off his back and rose to a kneeling position. His wings were folded around him, and he opened them to reveal the unconscious Andrea in his arms.

Sarah tensed. Another explosion rocked the building. Some of the beams around the hole fell, blocking some of the exit.

The dragon man stood and opened his wings. He flew off the ground and over the carnage of the wrecked crates to the hole. His large body barely fitted through the hole, but he flew out into the night and disappeared.

"That's not a bad idea," Sarah commented as she tried to help Adam to his feet.

Another rumble and the rest of the beams collapsed, sending a wave of dust across the interior of the ruined warehouse. Sarah shielded her face for a moment, and when she looked back at the hole it was gone, filled in by the wreckage.

"We have a problem," she told her companion as she looked up at the windows. She nodded at them. "Do you think you could get us up there?"

Adam tried to stand, but his legs buckled. He collapsed onto the ground and shook his head. "I can't move."

The flames grew taller and the smoke thicker. The remaining beams above their heads groaned and buckled. If the smoke inhalation didn't get them, the roof collapse would.

Sarah pursed her lips as she looked over the injured man. His colorful eyes were bright even in the firelight. She pursed her lips. "What if. . .if you drank my blood you could get us out of here?"

Adam frowned and shook his head. "I won't drink your blood."

"Could you get us out of here?" she persisted.

He pursed his lips, but gave a brief nod. "I think so."

She furrowed her brow. "What do you mean 'I think so?' Don't you know?"

He shook his head and winced as his wounds pulsed with pain "No. I have never taken another's blood."

Her eyes widened. "Never?"

"No."

The beams above them groaned. Sarah coughed on the smoke, but gathered herself and smiled at him. "I think now's a good time to get into the habit."

Adam's eyes wandered down to her neck. A hunger rose within him, deep and commanding. His fangs lengthened as his nostrils caught wisps of her blood. He clenched his teeth and looked up into her eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

A ceiling beam crashed down ten feet from where they huddled. She winced at the sight of the twisted, half-melted metal and looked back to him. "I don't think we have a choice."

Adam wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her against his chest. He leaned down and brushed his hot lips against her quivering neck. She gasped and closed her eyes. Her parted lips panted.

Adam pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open. He cupped her hand in his free one and raised her bent wrist. Sarah's eyes widened as he bent down. His long fangs slipped from his upper lips and sank deep into the veins of her wrist.

There was a brief moment of sharp pain before a swell of wonderful heat enveloped her body. Her eyes flew open and she arched her back as the hot, sensual feeling rushed through her. It felt as though a hundred soft hands teased and stroked the most intimate and sensitive parts of her body. The lustful heat penetrated every inch of her flesh, exposing her to a carnal pleasure she'd never known. She writhed and groaned as the caress of his kiss stirred in her a desire for more, an aching need for the sinful emotions he stirred inside her. She longed to be consumed by his feeding.

Sarah grasped his shoulder and moaned. Her whispered words sounded so far away to her own ears. "Please don't stop. Never stop."

Her head began to swim as her vision blurred. The world grew darker, but still her body begged for more of his touch. She whimpered as he drew away. His own body shook as he lay her down on the floor. She focused her vision on him as he turned away and clutched his chest.

"Adam," she whispered.

He glanced at her. His eyes were a bright yellow on the outside circle, but his pupils were a dark red like the color of blood. Her slow pulse quickened as he spoke in a low, strained voice.

"Whatever happens, don't-" Adam winced and shut his eyes. He took a deep shuddering breath and opened his eyes to look back at her. "Don't be afraid. Never be afraid of me."

She shook her head. His words were a mystery to her.

Adam climbed to his feet and turned his back to her. He stumbled to a spot some fifteen feet away from her and stopped. His body moved up and down in time with his labored breathing. He shut his eyes as a pounding sounded in his ears, the beating of a heart he'd never known.

Sarah reached out a trembling hand to him. "Adam."

He grunted and dropped to his hands and knees. His clothes tore as his body expanded outward, shaping his pale flesh into black scales. A thick tail tore through his pants and stretched out behind him. His shoes burst open as his toes and fingers lengthened into taloned claws. His face protruded outward as long rows of sharp teeth filled his mouth. He panted for air, and the sounded resembled that of a large bear more than a human. Large spikes rose from his spine and ran down his back.

The fires burned around him as his body bulged out into the long form of a dragon. All his human features were swallowed by the scaled body of a mythical creature. His form stretched a hundred feet from tail to nose, and he towered above the ruins of the warehouse floor. He leaned his head back and let loose a roar that shook the already shaky building.

The roof shuddered and let loose some of its beams. Sarah's eyes widened as she watched several of the beams above her fall from their places. Her body wouldn't respond to her pleas to move as one particular beam dropped toward her head.

Adam's tail shot out and wrapped around the beam. The other long slabs of metal bounced off his thick tail and crashed to the ground around Sarah. Adam flung aside the other one and turned to face her. He leaned his large, long head down near her. His nostrils flared as his eyes stared unblinkingly at her.

Sarah gazed into those bright eyes, and something stirred inside her. She winced and managed to raise herself to a seated position. Adam held still as she reached out a shaking hand. She pressed her palm against his warm, scaly snout. A soft rumble echoed from his throat.

Sarah smiled. "Adam. . ."

Another explosion rocked the warehouse as the flames reached another fuel tank. The roof buckled under the strain and sank inward at the middle. Adam raised his head and glared at the ceiling. He looked back to Sarah and slipped his head under her. She yelped as she slid down his neck to the first tall spike below his shoulder blades. The wide, soft blade acted like a saddle as he raised his head.

Adam looked up at the ceiling and opened his mouth. Fire burst from his parted jaws and shot upward as balls of flame. The column of flame exploded through the roof and pierced the sky to the clouds overhead. The clouds swirled and darkened. Lightning split the sky and thunder crashed over the city.

He opened his wings and flapped. A great whirlwind swirled beneath him as he flew off the ground and straight through the opening in the ceiling.

Ruthven watched the dragon emerge from the flames and fly over the river. A sly smile slipped onto his lips. "About time, my friend."

# 21

Sarah held tight to his scales and ducked her head as they flew over the river. The storm clouds thundered and flashed around them as Adam winded through the air. He took them to the largest park in the city, one that stood along the wide river.

Adam landed in the open field beside the calm water and leaned his neck down. Sarah slid off his back, but her shaking legs couldn't hold her and she dropped to her knees. She took deep, quick breaths before she looked up at Adam.

Adam's scales began to fall away as though a soft breeze blew them off. The dragon let loose a weak roar before he dropped with a loud thud onto the ground and he disappeared beneath a blizzard of scales. When he reappeared again his body was that of a human, and he lay face-down and naked on the ground.

Sarah's eyes widened and she crawled over to him. She reached him and shook his shoulders. "Adam! Adam, wake up!"

His eyes fluttered open. He raised his head and smiled at her. "Hi."

Her eyebrows crashed down and she smacked his shoulder. "Why didn't you warn me you were going to do that?"

"I-" he raised himself onto his knees, "-I didn't want to scare you."

She snorted. "I think you did that anyway." She tilted her head to one side and studied him. "So I'm guessing that's the dragon part of your Blood Dragon heritage?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Not a pretty sight, is it?"

"You don't turn into a fire-breathing monster of destruction every time you snack on someone, do you?" she wondered.

He shook his head. "No. Ruthven told me once that the first time I drank blood I'd turn into-well, what you saw. It shouldn't happen again."

She smiled. "Then I'm glad you waited until now. For a lot of reasons."

Adam raised his hand and frowned as he studied the open palm. "I never expected it to have that much power. I could barely control it at all."

She set her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure with a little practice you'll get better at controlling it."

He dropped his hand into his lap and looked ahead. "I hope I don't have to do that."

Sarah couldn't help but follow where his hand landed. She gazed at his firm body with an unblinking study.

Adam glanced in her direction and grinned when he noticed where she was looking. "Like what you see?"

She bowed her head. "I-I was just making sure you were okay."

Adam reached over and cupped her chin. He turned her face so she looked into his eyes. His voice was low and husky. "I wouldn't be if it hadn't been for your sacrifice."

A light blush accented her cheeks. "I-it was nothing. I just-" He leaned forward and tilted his head. Their lips brushed together. A hot thrill shot down her body. She closed her eyes and shuddered.

His warm breath brushed over her ear. "I couldn't have done it without you. That's why I'm going to give you what you want the most." Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat. He released her chin and drew away. "What time can you start work?"

Her eyes flew open. "A what?"

He sat back on his legs and shrugged. "A job. You know, what you get paid to do."

She frowned. "I know what a job is, but why are you offering me that?"

He grinned. "Did you want something else?"

Sarah balled her hands into fists and glared at him. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

Adam stood and shrugged. "I was just trying to be nice and offer you a job as my partner. You're not half-bad in a tight spot."

Sarah whipped her head away. "Would you put on some clothes!"

"I'm a little short on an extra set," he pointed out.

She pulled off her own coat and held it out to him without looking. "Here."

He took the coat and wrapped it around his waist. "Thanks. It was a little drafty."

She climbed to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at him. "And why would I want to be stuck with a sexist vampire-dragon who only knows how to get into-" He pulled her into his arms and pressed their lips together in a searing kiss. The heat of their union left tingles down her body and stirred within her a deep, carnal lust.

He drew away and grinned down at her. "Is that a good enough reason?"

She frowned and pushed him away. "Listen, I appreciate the offer, but I have a job and I have a life." Adam's face fell. A sly smile slipped onto her lips as she folded her arms across her chest. "But I've got some room in my life for a few more friends. That is, if you'll accept me into your world."

Adam smiled and held out his hand to her. " _Our_ world. Now let's go home. Maeve's got a door near here we can use."

Together they strode through the park and to the doorway, a disused tool shed in the brush. They stepped inside and found themselves face-to-face with Cate. Behind her and attached to her arm was Maeve.

"Let me go! I'm going to them!" Cate insisted.

"You need to stay here!" Maeve commanded her.

"I'm-" Cate froze as the pair walked through the door. Her face lit up. "Adam! Sarah!"

Maeve released Cate and glared at the two newcomers. "What kept you?" Her eyes traveled down Adam's nearly naked body. "And where the hell are your clothes?"

"It's a long story," Adam replied as Cate embraced him in a tight hug.

She looked up at her brother and smiled. "You saved Sarah!"

He nodded. "Yep, me and-" he froze and winced. "I think we forgot something."

"I didn't forget me," Ruthven spoke up as he stepped out of the door. He smiled and bowed his head to Adam. "Congratulations on the change." Adam pursed his lips.

Maeve frowned as she looked from Ruthven to Adam. "What change? What's-" she sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose, "-why do you smell like that woman?"

Adam cringed and rubbed the back of his head. "I kind of drank her blood to save us."

Cate's eyes widened. "You did? What did it taste like? Was the transformation painful?"

"Don't you think you should let your brother get some rest, or at least some clothes?" Ruthven advised her.

Cate stepped back and glanced down at her brother. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Adam!"

He smiled. "Let's go home."

The funeral march began to play. The group looked to the forgotten bag beside where Adam had lain. Sarah sighed and walked over to the bag. She knelt beside it and scrounged around until she found her cellphone.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"So does this mean I can keep it?"

Sarah stared straight ahead and blinked. "Keep what?"

"The kitten! Well, if I could find it. . ."

Sarah's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean you can't find it?"

"Well, it was here an hour ago, and then it-well, it just disappeared."

"Is something wrong?" Cate asked her.

Sarah ran her hand down her face and clenched her teeth. "You are fired as a babysitter, and you're dead if you don't find that kitten."

"Looking!" _Click_.

Sarah turned to Cate and pursed her lips. "I'm really sorry. It looks like my friend lost your kitten."

Cate's eyes widened. "Arty? What happened? When'd she disappear?"

"She's been gone for an hour, but don't worry. I'll go help look for her." Sarah slung her bag over her shoulder and glanced at Maeve. "Is one of your doors near Baltic Avenue?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just go through and you should end up at Vermont."

Sarah looked to Adam and smiled. "Thanks for saving me. I owe you two now."

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, it's my fault."

She grinned. "Then that means you owe me dinner, but later."

Sarah hurried through the door, leaving the group behind. Cate looked up at Adam. "Think she'll find Arty?"

He blinked down at her. "Who?"

She glared at him. "My kitten!"

Ruthven looked at the door and a sly smile slipped onto his lips. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, but-" he turned to his friends, "-let's get home before Adam catches his death of cold."

The three walked through the doorway that led out of their coat closet. Cate helped her brother upstairs, but Ruthven for his part went to the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle and wine glass from the kitchen counter and made his way upstairs to his room. His chambers had one of the balconies where a small table and a chair were placed.

Ruthven stepped out into the dark night to look out over the city. The balcony granted him a view of the city and the distant river. A noise of sirens echoed in the distance. He took a seat in the chair and crossed one leg over the other.

Ruthven sipped red liquid out of a wine glass as he watched the glow of the fire from the warehouse. The faint orange light revealed a small smile on his pale lips as sirens blared in the distance.

A small bundle of black jumped up onto the top of the balcony railing a few feet from where he sat. The feline let its tail dangle behind it as it watched the fire with him for a moment before it turned its yellow eyes to him. Though the kitten's lips didn't move, a velvety voice came from its person. "Must your kind be so showy?"

Ruthven set the bottom of the wine glass on his crossed legs. "I consider that a part of his dragon heritage. Besides, is that any way to greet an old friend after such a long absence?"

The kitten stared unblinkingly at him. "Friendship is fleeting and immaterial."

Ruthven smiled. "So like you to say that, but to what do I owe this honor?"

"Do you believe he is able to control the dragon within him?"

The vampire took another sip of his glass. "I see. That is your designs."

"Answer the question."

He shrugged. "Who can say? It's really up to him to decide that, but I've got high hopes for him. By-the-by, I need some information about where Simon lived."

The kitten's tail twitched. "You know it is against our rules to interfere in the affairs of those beneath us."

Ruthven sighed. "What a pity. I thought we had an understanding. I scratch your back, and you-" his eyes flickered down to the claws between her puffy toes, "-scratch my back. Within reason, of course. That is, unless you wish to find the source of the Saints on your own."

The kitten narrowed its eyes. "You play a dangerous game, vampire."

Ruthven flashed her a grin. "I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't like games, but are _you_ willing to play?"

His companion sighed. "Very well. He lived at an apartment on Peter Street, the Fates Apartment, apartment eight."

Ruthven chuckled. "What an appropriate name."

"Now _I_ wish to ask you about this young woman," the kitten revealed as she studied his face. "What do you make of her?"

"She is quite beautiful, and very persistent," he mused.

The kitten cleaned its face for a moment before it returned its bright eyes to him. "A beautiful woman is better, to be sure, but is she suited to be his lover?"

Ruthven looked past the feline at the brightly lit horizon and raised his glass in its direction. "We couldn't have wished for a better union."
**A note from Mac**

> Thanks for downloading my book! Your support means a lot to me, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to entertain you with my stories.
> 
> If you'd like to continue reading the series, or wonder what else I might have up my writer's sleeve, feel free to check out my website, or contact me at mac@macflynn.com.

Want to get an email when the next book is released?

**Sign up here for the Mac Flynn Newsletter, the online newsletter with a bite!**

# Continue the adventure

Now that you've finished the book, feel free to check out my website for the rest of the exciting series. Here's also a little sneak-peek at the next book:

* * *

**Dragon Spirit:**

> The long freedom was only a few minutes away.
> 
> Sarah Rennelle sat at her desk and watched her tense class. Their heads were bowed, but every now and again they would raise their eyes to the object of their affection and hatred, the clock. The minute hand ticked away at a cruel but consistent pace. In a few minutes they would be freed from their imprisonment and set loose upon the world in a mixture of blessings and plagues.
> 
> Sarah swept her eyes over the room. Some of her students were diligent and hardworking. Then there was Miles. Her eyes fell on the aforementioned burly young man. He wasn't too bright, but he was bright enough to know how big he was and what he could do with that power. That combination of strength and stupidity meant he abused both.
> 
> At that moment he leaned back in his chair and had his feet up on the back of the chair in front of him. The paper with the test lay untouched in front of him as he twirled his long, unsharpened pencil in one hand. His head was tilted back and he stared at the ceiling with a wide, stupid grin on his face.
> 
> Sarah sighed and plucked a piece of paper off her desk before she stood. The sound of her chair moving made more than a few heads whip up. Eyes full of hope at an early release fell with despair as she began a slow meander through the desks. She stopped beside Miles's desk and looked down at the paper. He hadn't even bothered to put his name at the top.
> 
> "You might want to start on the test," she advised him.
> 
> He shrugged. "I'm good."
> 
> A sly smile slipped onto Sarah's lips. "You know, I could give you some more time to do it." The other students looked up from their tests and the tension was replacing by hesitant hope.
> 
> Miles's eyes widened. "Really?"
> 
> She nodded. "Sure. How would another hour work for you?"
> 
> Miles dropped his pencil on his desk and grinned. "Works good for me. I could skip science tomorrow-"
> 
> "Not tomorrow," Sarah interrupted him as she held out the piece of paper, "-you have detention tonight."
> 
> Miles's good humor fled so fast his face twitched. "What the hell for?"
> 
> She nodded at his feet as she dropped the detention slip on his desk. "Vandalism of public property. Besides, you wanted more time. Now you've got it." She looked over the room at the half-hidden grins and sniggering. "Does anybody else want another hour?" The students paled and dove back into their work.
> 
> Miles sat up and dropped his feet to the floor before he picked up the slip and sneered at it. "I can't do this tonight. I've got a date."
> 
> Sarah arched an eyebrow as she looked over the plain young man with his mousy hair and blocky face. "You'll have to give her a rain check."
> 
> He looked out the window at the sunny afternoon and frowned. "It ain't raining."
> 
> Sarah had to order her eyes not to roll out of her head. "It means you can postpone your date." He stared blankly at her. She sighed. "You can have your date at another time." The bell rang, signifying the end to the conversation and another long day. She turned away from Miles and walked to the front of the room. "All right, everybody, turn your tests in to me and you can leave."
> 
> It was like being in the middle of a stampede of gazelles as the kids leapt from their chairs and raced to her. The papers were thrown, tossed, slapped, and slipped into her outstretched, open hands like so many high-fives.
> 
> Miles jostled upstream through his classmates eager to leave and reached Sarah with his blank test and detention slip in one hand and his other wrapped around the strap of his bag. "Just gimme a break this once, Teach. I seriously can't do this detention stuff tonight."
> 
> "And I seriously don't have time to argue with you," Sarah quipped as she shuffled the papers into a neat pile in her hands.
> 
> One of his passing classmates leaned toward him with a grin. "Wrecked"
> 
> Miles spun around and glared at the smaller boy as he drew back his paper-clenched fist. "You wanna say that again?"
> 
> Sarah frowned. "Do anything with that fist and you'll have another hour to work on your test. And you-" she looked to her other student, "-out."
> 
> The other classmate scuttled off. Miles looked over his shoulder and glared at Sarah. "Fuck you," he growled.
> 
> She held up the papers and smiled. "You'll have to get in line, now get out of here."
> 
> Miles sneered at her before he shuffled out of the room. Sarah sighed before she settled down in her chair. Test papers had yet to learn to grade themselves, so she sloshed through them for a half hour before the last one was placed atop the finished pile.
> 
> "At least he saved me some work. . ." she murmured as she checked the clock. The chore had taken her an hour, double the time she hoped. That meant she was late. "Shit!" she yelped as she leapt to her feet and grabbed her bag.
> 
> Sarah hurried to the door and stuck her head out. The hallways were long abandoned. Only the far-off sound of a floor cleaner echoed down the lonely tiled passages. She slipped out of her classroom and speed-walked down the hall. The door that led to her parked car was far down the passage. Too far.
> 
> Sarah broke into a slow sprint that lasted until she reached an intersection. A large figure stepped into her path and she crashed into a rock-solid figure who's thick hands grabbed her shoulders. For one brief, heart-quickening moment Sarah wondered if Miles had come to teach her a lesson about undeserved respect. A quick look up, however, told her that the situation was far worse for she looked into the disapproving face of Principal Grendel, her boss.
> 
> His bushy eyebrows crashed down and he pursed his lips. "Do you need a remedial course in hall etiquette, Miss Rennelle?"
> 
> She gave him a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry, Mr. Grendel. It won't happen again."
> 
> He released her, but his stern expression didn't change. It never did. "I expect not, and I expect better of you, Miss Rennelle. Your recent early releases, uninvited guests, and short-notice absences are troubling enough without you blatantly breaking school hall rules."
> 
> Sarah grasped the strap of her bag and side-stepped around him. "I've got that covered. You won't be seeing him again."
> 
> "I would hope you do the same, Miss Rennelle. A man such as that would be only trouble," Grendel advised her.
> 
> She backed up and gave him a small wave. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Bye!"
> 
> Sarah spun around and speed-walked away from him. Grendel watched her until she disappeared through the side doors before he shook his head and continued on his rounds.
> 
> She stepped out into the employee parking lot, an unfamiliar area for a walker. An ancient vehicle awaited her beside the curb. At the wheel was her friend, Jenny. She leaned over and opened the door so Sarah could slip into the passenger seat.
> 
> "About time," Jenny scolded her as she started the engine. It growled to life like a kitten and puttered away from the curb.
> 
> "I got busted by the principle for running in the hall," I explained as I strapped myself in via looping the seat belt around the broken clicker.
> 
> "He's such an ogre," Jenny mused as they drove down the road. "I'm surprised he hasn't eat half the kids."
> 
> Sarah winced as they rumbled down the street. "Could you drive a little slower? If you keep going at this speed this car's going to fall apart."
> 
> "Are you kidding me? This thing's such a classic that she'll outlast all of us. I really thought somebody was going to come by while I was waiting for you and steal my old beauty."
> 
> Sarah snorted. The rustic exterior and interior of the vehicle would have kept vandals away for years. "I don't think anyone would dare even _look_ at this thing without a tetanus shot."
> 
> Jenny frowned and stroked the dashboard. "She may not be the prettiest girl at the ball-" she cringed when her hand collected a thick layer of dust and wiped her digits on her pants, "-but she gets us everywhere."
> 
> Sarah cringed as she used her toes to gingerly make room on the junk-filled foot board for her own feet. "And the trash, too."
> 
> "I've been meaning to clean up."
> 
> "For a couple of years?"
> 
> "Time flies," Jenny argued as she drove them through the streets to the Muzzle District.
> 
> The name was apt. The district had been tough for decades, so there wasn't a house in the area that wasn't packing, for good or ill. Faces peeked through the grimy windows as they passed and glared at her before they ducked behind the holey curtains. A few groups of men watched her from the darkness that lurked between the houses like a nightmare lying in wait.
> 
> Jenny's eyes flickered to her friend as Sarah glanced out the window. Her gaze traveled down to Sarah's hand that was wrapped around the door handle so tight that her knuckles were white. She pursed her lips, but looked away without speaking. "Speaking of flying things, you sure you should be playing around with these supernatural folks?"
> 
> Sarah shook her head. "No, but somebody needs to help her."
> 
> A sly smile slipped onto Jenny's lips as her eyes flickered to her friend. " _She_ needs the help, or _he_?"
> 
> Jenny didn't slow down to find out why boys like that weren't at after-school sports. Sarah doubted they'd stepped foot in a classroom in years. The battered road took them to the old Victorian tenement where some of the occupants were older than the house. Random room lights gave the building an eccentric appearance as Jenny parked the car on the dirt curb, and put the car into park.
> 
> She glanced over at her friend who stared up at the old house with apprehension. "If you really don't want to go through with this then I could tell them you're busy."
> 
> "I told them I wasn't."
> 
> "Or something came up."
> 
> Sarah snorted. "In my life?"
> 
> "Maybe you died?"
> 
> Sarah rolled her eyes. "I think I can handle this job."
> 
> "You could at least tell me when I need to pick you up," Jenny persisted.
> 
> Sarah shook her head. "I don't know. I doubt even they know."
> 
> "Well, call me when you're ready to be picked up."
> 
> "I'll just stay overnight. This might get pretty late."
> 
> "You could just wake me up."
> 
> Sarah snorted as she opened her door and and stepped out. She ducked her head back in and smiled at her friend. "I would, but you sleep like the dead."
> 
> Jenny leaned over and raised her voice as Sarah stepped back. "Maybe it becomes me!"
> 
> Sarah slammed the car door and walked around the front. She walked up to the front door and rang the bell before she half-turned to the street. Jenny still sat there. She frowned and waved her hand at her friend.
> 
> Jenny rolled down her manual window and shook her head. "Not until you get your butt in there!"
> 
> Sarah was in the middle of rolling her eyes when the door swung open. The light from the small hall cast a heavy shadow over the greeter, but the pale face revealed the smiling Ruthven. "Good evening," he greeted her.
> 
> She smiled and gave him a small wave. "Hi. I hope I'm not too late."
> 
> Ruthven stepped aside and glanced past her at the darkening sky. "On the contrary, we have a few minutes."
> 
> "Oh, right. I forgot," she returned as she slipped inside. She waved to Jenny who's frown deepened.
> 
> "Your friend would be welcome to come inside," Ruthven invited her.
> 
> "Don't do anything weird to her!" Jenny shouted across the yard.
> 
> Sarah sighed. "Please don't let her in."
> 
> Ruthven chuckled as he shut the door behind them. "Very well."
> 
> The lights didn't illuminate the corners of the dank interior, but a bright face appeared at the top of the second-floor landing. "Sarah!" Cate gleefully yelled before she threw herself down the stairs and wrapped Sarah in a tight hug.
> 
> A puff of air escaped her lungs before Sarah returned the gesture. "Hey. Ready for a girl's night in?"
> 
> Cate leaned back and nodded. "Yep!"
> 
> Sarah craned her neck to look into the parlor to her right. "Where's Adam?"
> 
> "Just waking," Ruthven spoke up as he moved to lean against the door frame of the parlor entrance. His mischievous eyes danced over to Cate. "His sister's yell has the unique ability to wake even the dead."
> 
> Cate frowned at him. "He shouldn't sleep in this late, anyway. It always makes him cranky."
> 
> Ruthven sighed. "Yes. That will make this expedition all the more tedious."
> 
> Cate crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Then why can't I come with you two?"
> 
> "Because the Saints might also know where Simon lived," a voice from the top of the stairs spoke up. Everyone glanced up to see the handsome Adam standing on the landing.
> 
> Sarah gaped at his beautiful features as he ascended the stairs. Cate's eyes flickered to her and a sly smile slipped onto her lips. She leaned toward her older companion and lowered her voice to a whisper. "He's cute, isn't he? He doesn't even have to comb his hair after he gets up."
> 
> Sarah shook herself as Adam reached them and she cleared her throat. "Hi."
> 
> His face was pale and tense as he gave her a curt nod before he looked to Ruthven. "Can we leave?"
> 
> Cate wrapped her arms around one of those belonging to her brother and frowned up at him. "You're being rude. You can at least say hello to Sarah."
> 
> Sarah smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. How long do you think it'll take to search the apartment again?"
> 
> "It will take almost an hour to reach the apartment, and if Simon was as 'clean' as his usual habits than the exploration will take quite some time," Ruthven told her.
> 
> Cate tugged on Adam's arm. "Sarah and I could help you look faster."
> 
> He shook his head. "We can't take that risk."
> 
> Ruthven glanced at the front windows that flanked the sides of the door. "The sun has set."
> 
> Adam drew himself free from his little sister's grasp and slipped past them to join Ruthven at the front door. The vampire stepped outside, but Adam paused and glanced over his shoulder at the pair. His red eyes settled on Sarah before he pursed his lips and, without a word, joined Ruthven outside and shut the door behind him.
> 
> Cate put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Now what the heck is wrong with him? He's not usually that rude."
> 
> "Well, now that they're gone-" Sarah slipped her purse off and set it on a small table. The surface reminded her of one important matter: food. She rushed to the door and opened it with a flourish. "What are we-" She froze as she looked out on the lawn. The empty lawn. She blinked before she leaned out and looked up and down the street. Nobody was there. Her brain reminded her she wasn't dealing with normal people, and she rolled her eyes before she ducked back inside and closed the door. "Vampires. . .gotta remember they're vampires. . ." She turned to Cate and smiled at the young girl. "So what do you want to do?"
> 
> A wide grin stretched across Cate's lips. "I have just the thing." She grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her upstairs.

# Other series by Mac Flynn

**Contemporary Romance**

Being Me

Billionaire Seeking Bride

The Family Business

Loving Places

PALE Series

Trapped In Temptation

* * *

**Demon Romance**

Ensnare: The Librarian's Lover

Ensnare: The Passenger's Pleasure

Incubus Among Us

Lovers of Legend

Office Duties

Sensual Sweets

Unnatural Lover

**Dragon Romance**

Blood Dragon

Dragon Bound

Dragon Detective

Maiden to the Dragon

* * *

**Ghost Romance**

Phantom Touch

* * *

**Vampire Romance**

Blood Thief

Blood Treasure

Vampire Dead-tective

Vampire Soul

* * *

**Urban Fantasy**

Death Touched

Oracle of Spirits

* * *

**Werewolf Romance**

Alpha Blood

Alpha Mated

Beast Billionaire

By My Light

Desired By the Wolf

Falling For A Wolf

Garden of the Wolf

Highland Moon

In the Loup

Luna Proxy

Marked By the Wolf

Moon Chosen

Moon Lovers

Scent of Scotland: Lord of Moray

Shadow of the Moon

Sweet & Sour

Wolf Lake
