sarah's head swiveled in the direction of the voice and saw a crack of light where the door hadn't completely closed. her eyes widened and she fisted a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. she knew this place. the door swung open and she looked up, expecting to see the shadowed form from her nightmares, the one who'd taken trish and left regina for dead.

"you're awake." a young woman stood outlined in the light from the hallway, short like sarah, but thinner and much younger. trish, sarah realized. this was trish cowens.

"it's all right," trish was saying. "they're gone for now." she came closer, moving slowly, one hand out as if she was approaching a frightened animal.

sarah blinked. and felt a swell of fiery rage that started in her heart and raced out to warm every part of her body. it was raj. she could feel him like a huge, but distant blaze of fury. memory of his blood warm against her tongue flashed so vividly she could taste it. she hadn't wanted to take any of his blood, had only agreed in order to please him. the idea of more had been disgusting. but now she understood why it had been important. it was the link cyn had tried to tell her about. she only hoped it was enough for him to find her before it was too late.

"are you okay?" trish asked.

sarah managed a weak smile, but realized the girl might not be able to see it. "yeah," she said out loud. "or i will be in a minute." she swallowed her nausea, inhaling deeply, letting the air out slowly and repeating the cycle. she looked up. "you're trish cowens, aren't you?"

trish rushed over to the bed, nearly stumbling in her urgency to get closer. "are they looking for me? is my dad-" her voice cracked and sarah put out a hand, drawing the girl down to sit next to her. as if the touch was a signal, trish began to cry, sobbing like a small child. sarah wrapped her arms around her and let her cry, holding her tight and rocking slightly.

trish's sobs eventually diminished, but she held on, rubbing her wet face against sarah's t-shirt. "are you with the police?" she asked in a small, hopeful voice.

sarah sighed. if she got out of this alive, raj was going to kill her. "i'm not with the police, trish, but my friends know where i am and they'll come for us."

"it's vampires," trish said dully. "that's who's got us."

"i know," sarah said and tightened her hold on the frightened young woman.

"they killed regina."

"no," sarah said quickly. "we found regina in time and we saved her."

trish sat up and stared at her in the faint light. "for real? you're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"no way, hon. she's alive and so are we, and i intend to stay that way. we're getting out of here, trish. i don't know how yet, but we are definitely getting out of here alive."

chapter forty-six

byron's house looked much the same as it had four nights ago. byron, however, did not. he groveled on the floor in front of raj, naked but for a pair of loose sweatpants, blood running from several deep gashes across his chest and arms.

raj looked at cervantes, his brow quirked.

"he tried to escape, my lord," cervantes deadpanned.

raj considered the contrast between the spindly byron and cervantes and permitted himself a small smile. it didn't last long. he strolled over to byron and crouched down to meet the weaker vampire's eyes, his forearms on his knees and his hands hanging loosely between them. "you don't look so good, by."

byron flashed him a look of intense dislike before quickly lowering his head and hiding behind a fall of lanky hair. "i didn't do nuthin," he muttered.

"no? then maybe it was just nina. what do you think? can't have our humans defying us like that, can we? shall i kill her for you?"

byron's head came up, sheer panic in his eyes. "nina didn't do it, raj. i swear."

"do what?" raj asked softly.

byron blinked quickly, knowing he was caught. "whatever it is," he insisted, his voice dropping into a plaintive whine. "you send these guys to roust me out, i figure something's going on, but i was sleeping, man. you know that. and nina, she wouldn't do-"

raj crooked a finger and byron screamed, his head thrown back, the tendons in his neck standing out like shards of bone. raj dropped his hand and byron fell forward, curling in on himself like the wounded animal he was, his hands wrapped around his head as he wept loudly.

raj leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "can you hear nina's heart beating, by? i can."

the weeping vampire raised his head to stare at raj in horror.

"how loud do you think you'll have to scream before she comes out of her hiding place? let's see, shall we?"

"no," byron whimpered. "no, you can't-" his voice was shredded as he shrieked in agony, blood running from his ears, his eyes, and every pore as raj closed his fist and squeezed him dry. blood began to pool beneath him and cervantes stepped back fastidiously, his eyes gleaming butter yellow with a combination of blood lust and excitement.

raj raised his head to catch cervantes's gaze before shifting enough to cast a lazy glance at a section of the cheap, paneled wainscoting lining the dreary room. cervantes's eyes widened and he studied the paneling carefully, running a thick-fingered hand along the surface until he found what he was looking for. he looked over his shoulder at raj, who shook his head briefly before returning his attention to the dying byron.

"what a waste, by," he said with real regret. "i would have protected you." he stood with a slight gesture and watched dispassionately as byron crumbled to dust at his feet. he brushed his hands together briskly and jerked his chin up in a signal to cervantes.

the big vampire closed his hand into a fist and smashed it into the wainscoting, eliciting a scream of surprise and fear from nina who was huddled deep inside her hidey-hole. cervantes reached in and dragged her out with no more compassion than he'd shown byron, holding her by the scruff of her neck so that she dangled in front of him. "what shall i do with this, my lord?

raj's lip curled up in distaste as he touched the weeping woman's mind. her thoughts were chaotic with fear, scattering before him like leaves in the wind. he caught an image of sarah and clung to it, wrenching the memory from nina's brain with no care for the damage he might do. he saw the abductors, saw his human guard fall trying to shove sarah back to safety, saw her thrown into the back seat as the battle raged all around. but he knew all of this. he searched the muddle that was nina's brain once more and found what he was looking for. a phone call, the voice on the other end. one that raj recognized.

he withdrew from nina's awareness, his power shoving her away like the distasteful piece of meat she was. she fell into the puddle of dust and blood that had been byron and tried to push herself up, staring at the bloody goop on her hands and shrieking in horror when she realized what it must be. she scrambled away on all fours, leaving red streaks behind as she huddled against the wall, eyes wild as she gibbered madly.

"my lord," em said from behind him. "shall i-"

"no," he said sharply. "leave her as she is."

"but-"

raj spun and studied his lieutenant with eyes that glowed a deep, frosty blue. everyone stilled, the only noise the insane mutterings of a madwoman and the sound of em dropping to one knee.

"forgive me, my lord."

he let her stay there to the count of three breaths and then strode from the room. "we're going to krystof's," he said flatly.

his vampires rushed to follow, several cutting ahead of him to serve as a vanguard against any enemies who might have anticipated their moves and lay in wait outside. raj frowned, but recognized the necessity. it was one he'd have to get used to from now on. assuming he survived this night.

krystof's house looked the same as it always did. an aging mansion with shuttered windows and a driveway full of late model cars. raj stood on the street, his power tamped down once again-there was no reason to shout out his presence to the vampire lord. although between his blowup earlier and his confrontation with byron, the old man had to know he was coming, especially once he'd taken sarah. but it was the very normalcy of the house that troubled him. he'd expected more resistance, a frontline of defense, something to give krystof advance warning and spend raj's resources, weakening him before he ever entered the house.

he felt em come up behind him. "what's wrong with this picture?" he asked.

"it's too quiet," she replied immediately. "i'd expect krystof to set his frontline far away from his precious self." she nodded at the vampire lord's house. "i've seen more security than this at a frat house."

raj smiled tightly. "been to many of those, em?"

"a few," she acknowledged. "those well-fed young men are always so eager to share."

he snorted in amusement. "i'll take two in with me."

"my lord . . . raj, i-"

"i need you out here, em."

she sighed and waved over her shoulder. cervantes and yossi stepped up and took up positions to either side of him. raj gave em a sideways look.

"they drew straws for the honor," she said.

he snorted, thinking that accompanying one's sire into possible death was hardly much of an honor. "i do appreciate the thought, gentlemen."

cervantes gave him a grin, while yossi nodded silently. both eyed the silent house eagerly, muscles taut with the effort of remaining still, eyes gleaming in the street lights.

"we'll go in the back again," raj said coolly. "if my previous visits are anything to go by . . ." he lifted his head to indicate the house in front of them with a smirk. ". . . i don't think we'll have a problem. you can flank me however you want, until . . ." he shifted his gaze, making eye contact with each of them, marveling that he could earn the staunch loyalty of such strong, capable vampires. "until," he repeated, continuing in a softer voice, "we reach krystof's inner sanctum. at that point, i proceed alone."