DARK

REUNION
The Vampire Diaries Book 4
By
L. J. Smith
One
"Things can be just like they were before,"
said Caroline warmly, reaching out to squeeze
Bonnie's hand.
But it wasn't true. othing could e!er be the
way it had been before "lena died. othing. #nd
Bonnie had serious misgi!ings about this $arty
Caroline was trying to set u$. # !ague nagging
in the $it of her stomach told her that for some
reason it was a !ery, !ery bad idea.
"%eredith's birthday is already over," she
$ointed out. "&t was last 'aturday."
"But she didn't ha!e a $arty, not a real $arty
like this one. (e'!e got all night) my $arents
won't be back until 'unday morning. Come on,
Bonnie*just think how sur$rised she'll be."
+h, she'll be sur$rised, all right, thought
Bonnie. 'o sur$rised she just might kill me
afterward. ",ook, Caroline, the reason %eredith
didn't ha!e a big $arty is that she still doesn't
feel much like celebrating. &t seems*
disres$ectful, somehow*"
"But that's wrong. "lena would want us to
ha!e a good time, you know she would. 'he
lo!ed $arties. #nd she'd hate to see us sitting
around and crying o!er her si- months after
she's gone." Caroline leaned forward, her
normally feline green eyes earnest and
com$elling. There was no artifice in them now,
none of Caroline's usual nasty mani$ulation.
Bonnie could tell she really meant it.
"& want us to be friends again the way we
used to be," Caroline said. "(e always used to
celebrate our birthdays together, just the four of
us, remember. #nd remember how the guys
would always try to crash our $arties. & wonder
if they'll try this year."
Bonnie felt control of the situation sli$$ing
away from her. This is a bad idea, this is a !ery
bad idea, she thought. But Caroline was going
on, looking dreamy and almost romantic as she
talked about the good old days. Bonnie didn't
ha!e the heart to tell her that the good old days
were as dead as disco.
"But there aren't e!en four of us anymore.
Three doesn't make much of a $arty," she
$rotested feebly when she could get a word in.
"&'m going to in!ite 'ue Carson, too. %eredith
gets along with her, doesn't she."
Bonnie had to admit %eredith did) e!eryone
got along with 'ue. But e!en so, Caroline had to
understand that things couldn't be the way they
had been before. /ou couldn't just substitute 'ue
Carson for "lena and say, There, e!erything is
fi-ed now.
But how do & e-$lain that to Caroline. Bonnie
thought. 'uddenly she knew.
",et's in!ite 0ickie Bennett," she said.
Caroline stared. "Vickie Bennett. /ou must be
joking. &n!ite that bizarre little dri$ who
undressed in front of half the school. #fter
e!erything that ha$$ened."
"Because of e!erything that ha$$ened," said
Bonnie firmly. ",ook, & know she was ne!er in
our crowd. But she's not in with the fast crowd
anymore) they don't want her and she's scared to
death of them. 'he needs friends. (e need
$eo$le. ,et's in!ite her."
1or a moment Caroline looked hel$lessly
frustrated. Bonnie thrust her chin out, $ut her
hands on her hi$s, and waited. 1inally Caroline
sighed.
"#ll right) you win. &'ll in!ite her. But you
ha!e to take care of getting %eredith to my
house 'aturday night. #nd Bonnie*make sure
she doesn't ha!e any idea what's going on. &
really want this to be a sur$rise."
"+h, it will be," Bonnie said grimly. 'he was
un$re$ared for the sudden light in Caroline's
face or the im$ulsi!e warmth of Caroline's hug.
"&'m so glad you're seeing things my way,"
Caroline said. "#nd it'll be so good for us all to
be together again."
'he doesn't understand a thing, Bonnie
realized, dazed, as Caroline walked off. (hat do
& ha!e to do to e-$lain to her. 'ock her.
#nd then2 +h, 3od, now & ha!e to tell
%eredith.
But by the end of the day she decided that
maybe %eredith didn't need to be told. Caroline
wanted %eredith sur$rised) well, maybe Bonnie
should deli!er %eredith sur$rised. That way at
least %eredith wouldn't ha!e to worry about it
beforehand. /es, Bonnie concluded, it was
$robably kindest to not tell %eredith anything.
And who knows, she wrote in her journal
1riday night. Maybe I'm being too hard on
Caroline. Maybe she's really sorry about all the
things she did to us, like trying to humiliate
lena in !ront o! the whole town and trying to
get "te!an #ut away !or murder. Maybe
Caroline's matured since then and learned to
think about somebody besides hersel!. Maybe
we'll actually have a good time at her #arty.
#nd maybe aliens will kidna$ me before
tomorrow afternoon, she thought as she closed
the diary. 'he could only ho$e.
The diary was an ine-$ensi!e drugstore blank
book, with a $attern of tiny flowers on the co!er.
'he'd only started kee$ing it since "lena had
died, but she'd already become slightly addicted
to it. &t was the one $lace she could say anything
she wanted without $eo$le looking shocked and
saying, "Bonnie %cCullough4" or "+h, Bonnie."
'he was still thinking about "lena as she
turned off the light and crawled under the
co!ers.

'he was sitting on lush, manicured grass that
s$read as far as she could see in all directions.
The sky was a flawless blue, the air was warm
and scented. Birds were singing.
"&'m so glad you could come," "lena said.
"+h*yes," said Bonnie. "(ell, naturally, so
am &. +f course." 'he looked around again, then
hastily back at "lena.
"%ore tea."
There was a teacu$ in Bonnie's hand, thin and
fragile as eggshell. "+h*sure. Thanks."
"lena was wearing an eighteenth5century
dress of gauzy white muslin, which clung to her,
showing how slender she was. 'he $oured the
tea $recisely, without s$illing a dro$.
"(ould you like a mouse."
"# what."
"& said, would you like a sandwich with your
tea."
"+h. # sandwich. /eah. 3reat." &t was thinly
sliced cucumber with mayonnaise on a dainty
square of white bread. (ithout the crust.
The whole scene was as s$arkly and beautiful
as a $icture by 'eurat. (arm '$rings, that's
where we are. The old $icnic $lace, Bonnie
thought. But surely we'!e got more im$ortant
things to discuss than tea.
"(ho does your hair these days." she asked.
"lena ne!er had been able to do it herself.
"6o you like it." "lena $ut a hand u$ to the
silky, $ale gold mass $iled at the back of her
neck.
"&t's $erfect," said Bonnie, sounding for all the
world like her mother at a 6aughters of the
#merican 7e!olution dinner $arty.
"(ell, hair is im$ortant, you know," "lena
said. 8er eyes glowed a dee$er blue than the
sky, la$is lazuli blue. Bonnie touched her own
s$ringy red curls self5consciously.
"+f course, blood is im$ortant too," "lena
said.
"Blood. +h*yes, of course," said Bonnie,
flustered. 'he had no idea what "lena was
talking about, and she felt as if she were walking
on a tightro$e o!er alligators. "/es, blood's
im$ortant, all right," she agreed weakly.
"#nother sandwich."
"Thanks." &t was cheese and tomato. "lena
selected one for herself and bit into it delicately.
Bonnie watched her, feeling uneasiness grow by
the minute inside her, and then*
#nd then she saw the mud oozing out of the
edges of the sandwich.
"(hat*what's that." Terror made her !oice
shrill. 1or the first time, the dream seemed like a
dream, and she found that she couldn't mo!e,
could only gas$ and stare. # thick glob of the
brown stuff fell off "lena's sandwich onto the
checkered tablecloth. &t was mud, all right.
""lena9 "lena, what*"
"+h, we all eat this down here." "lena smiled
at her with brown5stained teeth. "-ce$t that the
!oice wasn't "lena's) it was ugly and distorted
and it was a man's !oice. "/ou will too."
The air was no longer warm and scented) it
was hot and sickly sweet with the odor of rotting
garbage. There were black $its in the green
grass, which wasn't manicured after all but wild
and o!ergrown. This wasn't (arm '$rings. 'he
was in the old gra!eyard) how could she not
ha!e realized that. +nly these gra!es were fresh.
"#nother mouse." "lena said, and giggled
obscenely.
Bonnie looked down at the half5eaten
sandwich she was holding and screamed.
6angling from one end was a ro$y brown tail.
'he threw it as hard as she could against a
headstone, where it hit with a wet sla$. Then she
stood, stomach hea!ing, scrubbing her fingers
frantically against her jeans.
"/ou can't lea!e yet. The com$any is just
arri!ing." "lena's face was changing) she had
already lost her hair, and her skin was turning
gray and leathery. Things were mo!ing in the
$late of sandwiches and the freshly dug $its.
Bonnie didn't want to see any of them) she
thought she would go mad if she did.
"/ou're not "lena4" she screamed, and ran.
The wind blew her hair into her eyes and she
couldn't see. 8er $ursuer was behind her) she
could feel it right behind her. 3et to the bridge,
she thought, and then she ran into something.
"&'!e been waiting for you," said the thing in
"lena's dress, the gray skeletal thing with long,
twisted teeth. ",isten to me, Bonnie." &t held her
with terrible strength.
"/ou're not "lena4 /ou're not "lena4"
",isten to me, Bonnie4"
&t was "lena's !oice, "lena's real !oice, not
obscenely amused nor thick and ugly, but urgent.
&t came from somewhere behind Bonnie and it
swe$t through the dream like a fresh, cold wind.
"Bonnie, listen quickly*"
Things were melting. The bony hands on
Bonnie's arms, the crawling gra!eyard, the
rancid hot air. 1or a moment "lena's !oice was
clear, but it was broken u$ like a bad long5dis5
tance connection.
"9 8e's twisting things, changing them. &'m
not as strong as he is9" Bonnie missed some
words. "9 but this is im$ortant. /ou ha!e to
find9 right now." 8er !oice was fading.
""lena, & can't hear you4 "lena4"
"9 an easy s$ell, only two ingredients, the
ones & told you already9"
""lena4"
Bonnie was still shouting as she sat bolt
u$right in bed.
Two
"#nd that's all & remember," Bonnie
concluded as she and %eredith walked down
'unflower 'treet between the rows of tall
0ictorian houses.
"But it was definitely "lena."
"/es, and she was trying to tell me something
at the end. But that's the $art that wasn't clear,
e-ce$t that it was im$ortant, terribly im$ortant.
(hat do you think."
"%ouse sandwiches and o$en gra!es."
%eredith arched an elegant eyebrow. "& think
you're getting 'te$hen :ing mi-ed u$ with
,ewis Carroll."
Bonnie thought she was $robably right. But
the dream still bothered her) it had bothered her
all day, enough to $ut her earlier worries out of
her mind. ow, as she and %eredith a$$roached
Caroline's house, the old worries returned with a
!engeance.
'he really should ha!e told %eredith about
this, she thought, casting an uneasy sideways
glance at the taller girl. 'he shouldn't let
%eredith just walk in there un$re$ared9
%eredith looked u$ at the lighted windows of
the ;ueen #nne 8ouse with a sigh. "6o you
really need those earrings tonight."
"/es, & do) yes, absolutely." Too late now.
%ight as well make the best of it. "/ou'll lo!e
them when you see them," she added, hearing
the note of ho$eful des$eration in her own !oice.
%eredith $aused and her keen dark eyes
searched Bonnie's face curiously. Then she
knocked on the door. "& just ho$e Caroline's not
staying home tonight. (e could end u$ stuck
with her."
"Caroline staying home on a 'aturday night.
6on't be ridiculous." Bonnie had been holding
her breath too long) she was starting to feel
lightheaded. 8er tinkling laughter came out
brittle and false. "(hat a conce$t," she
continued somewhat hysterically as %eredith
said, "& don't think anybody's home," and tried
the knob. <ossessed by some crazy im$ulse
Bonnie added, "1iddle5dee5dee."
8and on doorknob, %eredith sto$$ed dead
and turned to look at her.
"Bonnie," she said quietly, "ha!e you gone
com$letely through the ozone."
"o." 6eflated, Bonnie grabbed %eredith's
arm and sought her eyes urgently. The door was
o$ening on its own. "+h, 3od, %eredith, $lease
don't kill me9"
"'ur$rise4" shouted three !oices.
"'mile," Bonnie hissed, sho!ing the suddenly
resistant body of her friend through the door and
into the bright room full of noise and showers of
foil confetti. 'he beamed wildly herself and
s$oke through clenched teeth. ":ill me later*&
deser!e it*but for now just smile."

There were balloons, the e-$ensi!e %ylar
kind, and a cluster of $resents on the coffee
table. There was e!en a flower arrangement,
although Bonnie noticed the orchids in it
matched Caroline's $ale green scarf e-actly. &t
was a 8ermes silk with a design of !ines and
lea!es. 'he'll end u$ wearing one of those
orchids in her hair, &'ll bet, Bonnie thought.
'ue Carson's blue eyes were a little an-ious,
her smile wa!ering. "& ho$e you didn't ha!e any
big $lans for tonight, %eredith," she said.
"othing & can't break with an iron crowbar,"
%eredith re$lied. But she smiled back with wry
warmth and Bonnie rela-ed. 'ue had been a
8omecoming <rincess on "lena's court, along
with Bonnie, %eredith, and Caroline. 'he was
the only girl at school besides Bonnie and
%eredith who'd stood by "lena when e!eryone
else had turned against her. #t "lena's funeral
she'd said that "lena would always be the real
queen of 7obert ". ,ee, and she'd gi!en u$ her
own nomination for 'now ;ueen in "lena's
memory. obody could hate 'ue. The worst was
o!er now, Bonnie thought.
"& want to get a $icture of us all on the
couch," Caroline said, $ositioning them behind
the flower arrangement. "0ickie, take it, will
you."
0ickie Bennett had been standing by quietly,
unnoticed. ow she said, "+h, sure," and
ner!ously flicked long, light brown hair out of
her eyes as she $icked u$ the camera.
=ust like she's some kind of ser!ant, Bonnie
thought, and then the flashbulb blinded her.
#s the <olaroid de!elo$ed and 'ue and
Caroline laughed and talked around %eredith's
dry $oliteness, Bonnie noticed something else. &t
was a good $icture) Caroline looked stunning as
e!er with her auburn hair gleaming and the $ale
green orchids in front of her. #nd there was
%eredith, looking resigned and ironic and darkly
beautiful without e!en trying, and there she was
herself, a head shorter than the others, with her
red curls tousled and a shee$ish e-$ression on
her face. But the strange thing was the figure
beside her on the couch. &t was 'ue, of course it
was 'ue, but for a moment the blond hair and
blue eyes seemed to belong to someone else.
'omeone looking at her urgently, on the !erge of
saying something im$ortant. Bonnie frowned at
the $hoto, blinking ra$idly. The image swam in
front of her, and a chilling uneasiness ran u$ her
s$ine.
o, it was just 'ue in the $icture. 'he must'!e
gone crazy for a minute, or else she was letting
Caroline's desire for them "all to be together
again" affect her.
"&'ll take the ne-t one," she said, s$ringing u$.
"'it down, 0ickie, and lean in. o, farther,
farther*there4" #ll of 0ickie's mo!ements were
quick and light and ner!ous. (hen the flashbulb
went off, she started like a scared animal ready
to bolt.
Caroline scarcely glanced at this $icture,
getting u$ and heading for the kitchen instead.
"3uess what we're ha!ing instead of cake." she
said. "&'m making my own !ersion of 6eath by
Chocolate. Come on, you'!e got to hel$ me melt
the fudge." 'ue followed her, and after an
uncertain $ause, so did 0ickie.
The last traces of %eredith's $leasant
e-$ression e!a$orated and she turned to Bonnie.
"/ou should ha!e told me."
"& know." Bonnie lowered her head meekly a
minute. Then she looked u$ and grinned. "But
then you wouldn't ha!e come and we wouldn't
be ha!ing 6eath by Chocolate."
"#nd that makes it all worthwhile."
"(ell, it hel$s," Bonnie said, with an air of
being reasonable. "#nd really, it $robably won't
be so bad. Caroline's actually trying to be nice,
and it's good for 0ickie to get out of the house
for once9"
"&t doesn't look like it's good for her,"
%eredith said bluntly. "&t looks like she's going
to ha!e a heart attack."
"(ell, she's $robably just ner!ous." &n
Bonnie's o$inion, 0ickie had good reason to be
ner!ous. 'he'd s$ent most of the $re!ious fall in
a trance, being slowly dri!en out of her mind by
a $ower she didn't understand. obody had
e-$ected her to come out of it as well as she had.
%eredith was still looking bleak. "#t least,"
Bonnie said consolingly, "it isn't your real
birthday."
%eredith $icked u$ the camera and turned it
o!er and o!er. 'till looking down at her hands,
she said, "But it is."
"(hat." Bonnie stared and then said louder,
"$hat did you say."
"& said, it is my real birthday. Caroline's mom
must ha!e told her) she and my mom used to be
friends a long time ago."
"%eredith, what are you talking about. /our
birthday was last week, %ay >?."
"o, it wasn't. &t's today, =une @. &t's true) it's
on my dri!er's license and e!erything. %y
$arents started celebrating it a week early
because =une @ was too u$setting for them. &t
was the day my grandfather was attacked and
went crazy." #s Bonnie gas$ed, unable to s$eak,
she added calmly, "8e tried to kill my
grandmother, you know. 8e tried to kill me,
too." %eredith $ut the camera down carefully in
the e-act center of the coffee table. "(e really
should go in the kitchen," she said quietly. "&
smell chocolate."
Bonnie was still $aralyzed, but her mind was
beginning to work again. 0aguely, she
remembered %eredith s$eaking about this
before, but she hadn't told her the full truth then.
#nd she hadn't said when it had ha$$ened.
"#ttacked*you mean like 0ickie was
attacked," Bonnie got out. 'he couldn't say the
word vam#ire, but she knew %eredith
understood.
",ike 0ickie was attacked," %eredith
confirmed. "Come on," she added, e!en more
quietly. "They're waiting for us. & didn't mean to
u$set you."

%eredith doesn't want me to be u$set, so &
won't be u$set, Bonnie thought, $ouring hot
fudge o!er the chocolate cake and chocolate ice
cream. "!en though we'!e been friends since
first grade and she ne!er told me this secret
before.
1or an instant her skin chilled and words
came floating out of the dark corners of her
mind. %o one is what they seem. 'he'd been
warned that last year by the !oice of 8onoria
1ell s$eaking through her, and the $ro$hecy had
turned out to be horrifyingly true. (hat if it
wasn't o!er yet.
Then Bonnie shook her head determinedly.
'he couldn't think about this right now) she had
a #arty to think about. #nd &'ll make sure it's a
good $arty and we all get along somehow, she
thought.
'trangely, it wasn't e!en that hard. %eredith
and 0ickie didn't talk much at first, but Bonnie
went out of her way to be nice to 0ickie, and
e!en %eredith couldn't resist the $ile of brightly
wra$$ed $resents on the coffee table. By the
time she'd o$ened the last one they were all
talking and laughing. The mood of truce and
toleration continued as they mo!ed u$ into
Caroline's bedroom to e-amine her clothes and
C6s and $hoto albums. #s it got near midnight
they flo$$ed on slee$ing bags, still talking.
"(hat's going on with #laric these days."
'ue asked %eredith.
#laric 'altzman was %eredith's boyfriend*
sort of. 8e was a graduate student from 6uke
Ani!ersity who'd majored in $ara$sychology
and had been called to 1ell's Church last year
when the !am$ire attacks began. Though he'd
started out an enemy, he'd ended u$ an ally*and
a friend.
"8e's in 7ussia," %eredith said. "<erestroika,
you know. 8e's o!er there finding out what they
were doing with $sychics during the Cold (ar."
"(hat are you going to tell him when he gets
back." asked Caroline.
&t was a question Bonnie would ha!e liked to
ask %eredith herself. Because #laric was almost
four years older, %eredith had told him to wait
until after she graduated to talk about their
future. But now %eredith was eighteen*today,
Bonnie reminded herself*and graduation was
in two weeks. (hat was going to ha$$en after
that.
"& ha!en't decided," %eredith said. "#laric
wants me to go to 6uke, and &'!e been acce$ted
there, but &'m not sure. & ha!e to think."
Bonnie was just as glad. 'he wanted %eredith
to go to Boone =unior College with her, not go
off and get married, or e!en engaged. &t was
stu$id to decide on one guy so young. Bonnie
herself was notorious for $laying the field, going
from boy to boy as she $leased. 'he got crushes
easily, and got o!er them just as easily.
"& ha!en't seen the guy so far worth remaining
faithful to," she said now.
"!eryone looked at her quickly. 'ue's chin
was resting on her fists as she asked, "ot e!en
'tefan."
Bonnie should ha!e known. (ith the only
light the dim bedside lam$ and the only sound
the rustle of new lea!es on the wee$ing willows
outside, it was ine!itable that the con!ersation
would turn to 'tefan*and to "lena.
'tefan 'al!atore and "lena 3ilbert were
already a sort of legend in the town, like 7omeo
and =uliet. (hen 'tefan had first come to 1ell's
Church, e!ery girl had wanted him. #nd "lena,
the most beautiful, most $o$ular, most
una$$roachable girl at school, had wanted him
too. &t was only after she'd gotten him that she
realized the danger. 'tefan wasn't what he
seemed*he had a secret far darker than anyone
could ha!e guessed. #nd he had a brother,
6amon, e!en more mysterious and dangerous
than himself. "lena had been caught between the
two brothers, lo!ing 'tefan but drawn
irresistibly to 6amon's wildness. &n the end she
had died to sa!e them both, and to redeem their
lo!e.
"%aybe 'tefan*if you're "lena," Bonnie
murmured, yielding the $oint. The atmos$here
had changed. &t was hushed now, a little sad, just
right for late5night confidences.
"& still can't belie!e she's gone," 'ue said
quietly, shaking her head and shutting her eyes.
"'he was so much more ali!e than other $eo$le."
"8er flame burned brighter," said %eredith,
gazing at the $atterns the rose5and5gold lam$
made on the ceiling. 8er !oice was soft but
intense, and it seemed to Bonnie that those
words described "lena better than anything she'd
e!er heard.
"There were times when & hated her, but &
could ne!er ignore her," Caroline admitted, her
green eyes narrowed in memory. "'he wasn't a
$erson you could ignore."
"+ne thing & learned from her death," 'ue
said, "is that it could ha$$en to any of us. /ou
can't waste any of life because you ne!er know
how long you'!e got."
"&t could be si-ty years or si-ty minutes,"
0ickie agreed in a low !oice. "#ny of us could
die tonight."
Bonnie wriggled, disturbed. But before she
could say anything, 'ue re$eated, "& still can't
belie!e she's really gone. 'ometimes & feel as if
she's somewhere near."
"+h, so do &," said Bonnie, distracted. #n
image of (arm '$rings flashed through her
mind, and for a moment it seemed more !i!id
than Caroline's dim room. ",ast night & dreamed
about her, and & had the feeling it really was her
and that she was trying to tell me something. &
still ha!e that feeling," she said to %eredith.
The others gazed at her silently. +nce, they
would all ha!e laughed if Bonnie hinted at any5
thing su$ernatural, but not now. 8er $sychic
$owers were undis$uted, awesome, and a little
scary.
"6o you really." breathed 0ickie.
"(hat do you think she was trying to say."
asked 'ue.
"& don't know. #t the end she was trying so
hard to stay in contact with me, but she
couldn't."
There was another silence. #t last 'ue said
hesitantly, with the faintest catch in her !oice,
"6o you think9 do you think you could contact
her."
&t was what they'd all been wondering. Bonnie
looked toward %eredith. "arlier, %eredith had
dismissed the dream, but now she met Bonnie's
eyes seriously.
"& don't know," Bonnie said slowly. 0isions
from the nightmare ke$t swirling around her. "&
don't want to go into a trance and o$en myself
u$ to whate!er else might be out there, that's for
sure."
"&s that the only way to communicate with
dead $eo$le. (hat about a +uija board or
something." 'ue asked.
"%y $arents ha!e a +uija board," Caroline
said a little too loudly. 'uddenly the hushed,
low5key mood was broken and an indefinable
tension filled the air. "!eryone sat u$ straighter
and looked at each other with s$eculation. "!en
0ickie looked intrigued on to$ of her scaredness.
"(ould it work." %eredith said to Bonnie.
"'hould we." 'ue wondered aloud.
"6o we dare. That's really the question,"
%eredith said. +nce again Bonnie found
e!eryone looking at her. 'he hesitated a final
instant, and then shrugged. "-citement was
stirring in her stomach.
"(hy not." she said. "(hat ha!e we got to
lose."
Caroline turned to 0ickie. "0ickie, there's a
closet at the bottom of the stairs. The +uija
board should be inside, on the to$ shelf with a
bunch of other games."
'he didn't e!en say, "<lease, will you get it."
Bonnie frowned and o$ened her mouth, but
0ickie was already out the door.
"/ou could be a little more gracious," Bonnie
told Caroline. "(hat is this, your im$ression of
Cinderella's e!il ste$mother."
"+h, come on, Bonnie," Caroline said
im$atiently. "'he's lucky just to be in!ited. "he
knows that."
"#nd here & thought she was just o!ercome by
our collecti!e s$lendor," %eredith said dryly.
"#nd besides*" Bonnie started when she was
interru$ted. The noise was thin and shrill and it
fell off weakly at the end, but there was no
mistaking it. &t was a scream. &t was followed by
dead silence and then suddenly $eal after $eal of
$iercing shrieks.
1or an instant the girls in the bedroom stood
transfi-ed. Then they were all running out into
the hallway and down the stairs.
"0ickie4" %eredith, with her long legs,
reached the bottom first. 0ickie was standing in
front of the closet, arms outstretched as if to
$rotect her face. 'he clutched at %eredith, still
screaming.
"0ickie, what is it." Caroline demanded,
sounding more angry than afraid. There were
game bo-es scattered across the floor and
%ono$oly markers and Tri!ial <ursuit cards
strewn e!erywhere. "(hat are you yelling
about."
"&t grabbed me4 & was reaching u$ to the to$
shelf and something grabbed me around the
waist4"
"1rom behind."
"o4 1rom inside the closet."
'tartled, Bonnie looked inside the o$en
closet. (inter coats hung in an im$enetrable
layer, some of them reaching the floor. 3ently
disengaging herself from 0ickie, %eredith
$icked u$ an umbrella and began $oking the
coats.
"+h, don't*" Bonnie began in!oluntarily, but
the umbrella encountered only the resistance of
cloth. %eredith used it to $ush the coats aside
and re!eal the bare cedarwood of the closet wall.
"/ou see. obody there," she said lightly.
"But you know what is there are these coat
slee!es. &f you leaned in far enough between
them, &'ll bet it could feel like somebody's arms
closing around you."
0ickie ste$$ed forward, touched a dangling
slee!e, then looked u$ at the shelf. 'he $ut her
face in her hands, long silky hair falling forward
to screen it. 1or an awful moment Bonnie
thought she was crying, then she heard the
giggles.
"+h, 3od4 & really thought*oh, &'m so stu$id4
&'ll clean it u$," 0ickie said.
",ater," said %eredith firmly. ",et's go in the
li!ing room."
Bonnie threw one last look at the closet as
they went.
(hen they were all gathered around the
coffee table, with se!eral lights turned off for
effect, Bonnie $ut her fingers lightly on the
small $lastic $lanchette. 'he'd ne!er actually
used a +uija board, but she knew how it was
done. The $lanchette mo!ed to $oint at letters
and s$ell out a message*if the s$irits were
willing to talk, that is.
"(e all ha!e to be touching it," she said, and
then watched as the others obeyed. %eredith's
fingers were long and slender, 'ue's slim and
ta$ering with o!al nails. Caroline's nails were
$ainted burnished co$$er. 0ickie's were bitten.
"ow we close our eyes and concentrate,"
Bonnie said softly. There were little hisses of
antici$ation as the girls obeyed) the atmos$here
was getting to all of them.
"Think of "lena. <icture her. &f she's out there,
we want to draw her here."
The big room was silent. &n the dark behind
her closed lids Bonnie saw $ale gold hair and
eyes like la$is lazuli.
"Come on, "lena," she whis$ered. "Talk to
me."
The $lanchette began to mo!e.
one of them could be guiding it) they were
all a$$lying $ressure from different $oints.
e!ertheless, the little triangle of $lastic was
sliding smoothly, confidently. Bonnie ke$t her
eyes shut until it sto$$ed and then looked. The
$lanchette was $ointing to the word &es.
0ickie ga!e something like a soft sob.
Bonnie looked at the others. Caroline was
breathing fast, green eyes narrowed. 'ue, the
only one of all of them, still had her eyes
resolutely closed. %eredith looked $ale.
They all e-$ected her to know what to do.
":ee$ concentrating," Bonnie told them. 'he
felt unready and a little stu$id addressing the
em$ty air directly. But she was the e-$ert) she
had to do it.
"&s that you, "lena." she said.
The $lanchette made a little circle and
returned to &es.
'uddenly Bonnie's heart was beating so hard
she was afraid it would shake her fingers. The
$lastic underneath her fingerti$s felt different,
electrified almost, as if some su$ernatural energy
was flowing through it. 'he no longer felt stu$id.
Tears came to her eyes, and she could see that
%eredith's eyes were glistening too. %eredith
nodded at her.
"8ow can we be sure." Caroline was saying,
loudly, sus$iciously. Caroline doesn't feel it,
Bonnie realized) she doesn't sense anything & do.
<sychically s$eaking, she's a dud.
The $lanchette was mo!ing again, touching
letters now, so quickly that %eredith barely had
time to s$ell out the message. "!en without
$unctuation it was clear.
C#7+,&" 6+T B" # ="7:, it said.
/+A7" ,AC:/ &% T#,:&3 T+ /+A #T
#,,
"That's "lena, all right," %eredith said dryly.
"&t sounds like her, but*"
"+h, shut u$, Caroline," Bonnie said. ""lena,
&'m just so glad9" 8er throat locked u$ and she
tried again.
B+&" T8"7"' + T&%" 'T+<
'&0",&3 #6 3"T 6+( T+
BA'&"''
#nd that was "lena too. Bonnie sniffed and
went on. "& had a dream about you last night."
T"#
"/es." Bonnie's heart was thudding faster than
e!er. "& wanted to talk to you, but things got
weird and then we ke$t losing contact*"
B+&" 6+T T7#C" + T7#C"
+ T7#C"
"#ll right." That answered her question, and
she was relie!ed to hear it.
C+77A<T&3 &1,A"C"'
6&'T+7T&3 +A7 C+%%A&C#T&+
T8"7" #7" B#6 T8&3' 0"7/ B#6
T8&3' +AT 8"7"
",ike what." Bonnie leaned closer to the
board. ",ike what."
+ T&%"4
The $lanchette seemed to add the e-clamation
$oint. &t was jerking !iolently from letter to
letter as if "lena could barely contain her
im$atience.
8"' BA'/ '+ & C# T#,: +( BAT
T8"7"' +T %AC8 T&%" ,&'T" (8"
(" 'T+< 3"T +AT +1 T8" 8+A'" 1#'T
/+A7" & 6#3"7
"6anger." 0ickie re$eated, looking as if she
might jum$ off the chair and run.
(#&T ,&'T" 1&7'T T8" (8+," T+(
&' & 6#3"7
"(hat do we do." said %eredith instantly.
/+A ""6 8",< 8"' +AT +1 /+A7
,"#3A" AB",&"0#B,/ 'T7+3 +(
,&'T" #6 1+,,+( &'T7ACT&+'
/+A 8#0" T+ 6+ # 'A%%+&3 '<",,
#6 T8" 1&7'T &37"6&"T &' 8*
(ithout warning, the $lanchette jerked away
from the letters and flew around the board
wildly. &t $ointed at the stylized $icture of the
moon, then at the sun, then at the words 'arker
Brothers, Inc.
""lena4"
The $lanchette bobbed back to the letters.
#+T8"7 %+A'" #+T8"7 %+A'"
#+T8"7 %+A'"
"(hat's ha$$ening." 'ue cried, eyes wide
o$en now.
Bonnie was frightened. The $lanchette was
$ulsing with energy, a dark and ugly energy like
boiling black tar that stung her fingers. But she
could also feel the qui!ering sil!er thread that
was "lena's $resence fighting it. "6on't let go4"
she cried des$erately. "6on't take your hands off
it4"
%+A'%A6:&,,/+A, the board reeled off.
B,++6B,++6B,++6. #nd then9 B+&"
3"T +AT 7A 8"' 8"7" 7A 7A 7A*
The $lanchette jerked furiously, whi$$ing out
from under Bonnie's fingers and beyond her
reach, flying across the board and through the air
as if someone had thrown it. 0ickie screamed.
%eredith started to her feet.
#nd then all the lights went out, $lunging the
house into darkness.
Three
0ickie's screams went out of control. Bonnie
could feel $anic rising in her chest.
"0ickie, sto$ it4 Come on) we'!e got to get out
of here4" %eredith was shouting to be heard.
"&t's your house, Caroline. "!erybody grab
hands and you lead us to the front door."
"+kay," Caroline said. 'he didn't sound as
frightened as e!erybody else. That was the
ad!antage to ha!ing no imagination, Bonnie
thought. /ou couldn't $icture the terrible things
that were going to ha$$en to you.
'he felt better with %eredith's narrow, cold
hand gras$ing hers. 'he fumbled on the other
side and caught Caroline's, feeling the hardness
of long fingernails.
'he could see nothing. 8er eyes should be
adjusting to the dark by now, but she couldn't
make out e!en a glimmer of light or shadow as
Caroline started leading them. There was no
light coming through the windows from the
street) the $ower seemed to be out e!erywhere.
Caroline cursed, running into some $iece of
furniture, and Bonnie stumbled against her.
0ickie was whim$ering softly from the back
of the line. "8ang on," whis$ered 'ue. "8ang
on, 0ickie, we'll make it."
They made slow, shuffling $rogress in the
dark. Then Bonnie felt tile under her feet. "This
is the front hall," Caroline said. "'tay here a
minute while & find the door." 8er fingers
sli$$ed out of Bonnie's.
"Caroline4 6on't let go*where are you.
Caroline, gi!e me your hand4" Bonnie cried,
gro$ing frantically like a blind $erson.
+ut of the darkness something large and
moist closed around her fingers. &t was a hand. &t
wasn't Caroline's.
Bonnie screamed.
0ickie immediately $icked it u$, shrieking
wildly. The hot, moist hand was dragging
Bonnie forward. 'he kicked out, struggling, but
it made no difference. Then she felt %eredith's
arms around her waist, both arms, wrenching her
back. 8er hand came free of the big one.
#nd then she was turning and running, just
running, only dimly aware that %eredith was be5
side her. 'he wasn't at all aware that she was still
screaming until she slammed into a large
armchair that sto$$ed her $rogress, and she
heard herself.
"8ush4 Bonnie, hush, sto$4" %eredith was
shaking her. They had slid down the back of the
chair to the floor.
"'omething had me4 'omething grabbed me,
%eredith4"
"& know. Be quiet4 &t's still around," %eredith
said. Bonnie jammed her face into %eredith's
shoulder to kee$ from screaming again. (hat if
it was here in the room with them.
'econds crawled $ast, and the silence $ooled
around them. o matter how Bonnie strained her
ears, she could hear no sound e-ce$t their own
breathing and the dull thudding of her heart.
",isten4 (e'!e got to find the back door. (e
must be in the li!ing room now. That means the
kitchen's right behind us. (e ha!e to get there,"
%eredith said, her !oice low.
Bonnie started to nod miserably, then abru$tly
lifted her head. "(here's 0ickie." she whis$ered
hoarsely.
"& don't know. & had to let go of her hand to
$ull you away from that thing. ,et's mo!e."
Bonnie held her back. "But why isn't she
screaming."
# shudder went through %eredith. "& don't
know."
"+h, 3od. +h, 3od. (e can't lea!e her,
%eredith."
"(e have to."
"(e can't. %eredith, & made Caroline in!ite
her. 'he wouldn't be here e-ce$t for me. (e
ha!e to get her out."
There was a $ause, and then %eredith hissed,
"#ll right4 But you $ick the strangest times to
turn noble, Bonnie."
# door slammed, causing both of them to
jum$. Then there was a crashing, like feet on
stairs, Bonnie thought. #nd briefly, a !oice was
raised.
"0ickie, where are you. 6on't*0ickie, no4
o4"
"That was 'ue," gas$ed Bonnie, jum$ing u$.
"1rom u$stairs4"
"(hy don't we ha!e a !lashlight." %eredith
was raging.
Bonnie knew what she meant. &t was too dark
to go running blindly around this house) it was
too frightening. There was a $rimiti!e $anic
hammering in her brain. 'he needed light, any
light.
'he couldn't go fumbling into that darkness
again, e-$osed on all sides. 'he couldn't do it.
e!ertheless, she took one shaky ste$ away
from the chair.
"Come on," she gas$ed, and %eredith came
with her, ste$ by ste$, into the blackness.
Bonnie ke$t e-$ecting that moist, hot hand to
reach out and grab her again. "!ery inch of her
skin tingled in antici$ation of its touch, and
es$ecially her own hand, which she had
outstretched to feel her way.
Then she made the mistake of remembering
the dream.
&nstantly, the sickly sweet smell of garbage
o!erwhelmed her. 'he imagined things crawling
out of the ground and then remembered "lena's
face, gray and hairless, with li$s shri!eled back
from grinning teeth. &f that thing grabbed hold of
her9
& can't go any farther) & can't, & can't, she
thought. &'m sorry for 0ickie, but & can't go on.
<lease, just let me sto$ here.
'he was clinging to %eredith, almost crying.
Then from u$stairs came the most horrifying
sound she had e!er heard.
&t was a whole series of sounds, actually, but
they all came so close together that they blended
into one terrible swell of noise. 1irst there was
screaming, 'ue's !oice screaming, "0ickie4
0ickie4 o4" Then a resonant crash, the sound of
glass shattering, as if a hundred windows were
breaking at once. #nd o!er that a sustained
scream, on a note of $ure, e-quisite terror.
Then it all sto$$ed.
"$hat was it. (hat ha$$ened, %eredith."
"'omething bad." %eredith's !oice was taut
and choked. "'omething !ery bad. Bonnie, let
go. &'m going to see."
"ot alone, you're not," Bonnie said fiercely.
They found the staircase and made their way
u$ it. (hen they reached the landing, Bonnie
could hear a strange and oddly sickening sound,
the tinkle of glass shards falling.
#nd then the lights went on.
&t was too sudden) Bonnie screamed
in!oluntarily. Turning to %eredith she almost
screamed again. %eredith's dark hair was
dishe!eled and her cheekbones looked too shar$)
her face was $ale and hollow with fear.
Tinkle, tinkle.
&t was worse with the lights on. %eredith was
walking toward the last door down the hall,
where the noise was coming from. Bonnie
followed, but she knew suddenly, with all her
heart, that she didn't want to see inside that
room.
%eredith $ulled the door o$en. 'he froze for a
minute in the doorway and then lunged quickly
inside. Bonnie started for the door.
"(h, my )od, don't come any !arther*"
Bonnie didn't e!en $ause. 'he $lunged into
the doorway and then $ulled u$ short. #t first
glance it looked as if the whole side of the house
was gone. The 1rench windows that connected
the master bedroom to the balcony seemed to
ha!e e-$loded outward, the wood s$lintered, the
glass shattered. ,ittle $ieces of glass were
hanging $recariously here and there from the
remnants of the wood frame. They tinkled as
they fell.
6ia$hanous white curtains billowed in and
out of the ga$ing hole in the house. &n front of
them, in silhouette, Bonnie could see 0ickie. 'he
was standing with her hands at her sides, as
motionless as a block of stone.
"0ickie, are you okay." Bonnie was so
relie!ed to see her ali!e that it was $ainful.
"0ickie."
0ickie didn't turn, didn't answer. Bonnie
maneu!ered around her cautiously, looking into
her face. 0ickie was staring straight ahead, her
$u$ils $in$oints. 'he was sucking in little
whistling breaths, chest hea!ing.
"&'m ne-t. &t said &'m ne-t," she whis$ered
o!er and o!er, but she didn't seem to be talking
to Bonnie. 'he didn't seem to see Bonnie at all.
'huddering, Bonnie reeled away. %eredith
was on the balcony. 'he turned as Bonnie
reached the curtains and tried to block the way.
"6on't look. 6on't look down there," she said.
6own where. 'uddenly Bonnie understood.
'he sho!ed $ast %eredith, who caught her arm
to sto$ her on the edge of a dizzying dro$. The
balcony railing had been blasted out like the
1rench windows and Bonnie could see straight
down to the lighted yard below. +n the ground
there was a twisted figure like a broken doll,
limbs askew, neck bent at a grotesque angle,
blond hair fanned on the dark soil of the garden.
&t was 'ue Carson.
#nd throughout all the confusion that raged
afterward, two thoughts ke$t !ying for
dominance in Bonnie's mind. +ne was that
Caroline would ne!er ha!e her foursome now.
#nd the other was that it wasn't fair for this to
ha$$en on %eredith's birthday. &t just wasn't fair.

"&'m sorry, %eredith. & don't think she's u$ to
it right now."
Bonnie heard her father's !oice at the front
door as she listlessly stirred sweetener into a cu$
of chamomile tea. 'he $ut the s$oon down at
once. (hat she wasn't u$ to was sitting in this
kitchen one minute longer. 'he needed out.
"&'ll be right there, 6ad."
%eredith looked almost as bad as she had last
night, face $eaked, eyes shadowed. 8er mouth
was set in a tight line.
"(e'll just go out dri!ing for a little while,"
Bonnie said to her father. "%aybe see some of
the kids. #fter all, you're the one who said it isn't
dangerous, right."
(hat could he say. %r. %cCullough looked
down at his $etite daughter, who stuck out the
stubborn chin she'd inherited from him and met
his gaze squarely. 8e lifted his hands.
"&t's almost four o'clock now. Be back before
dark," he said.
"They want it both ways," Bonnie said to
%eredith on the way to %eredith's car. +nce
inside, both girls immediately locked their doors.
#s %eredith $ut the car in gear she ga!e
Bonnie a glance of grim understanding.
"/our $arents didn't belie!e you, either."
"+h, they belie!e e!erything & told them*
e-ce$t anything im$ortant. 8ow can they be so
stu$id."
%eredith laughed shortly. "/ou'!e got to look
at it from their $oint of !iew. They find one dead
body without a mark on it e-ce$t those caused
by the fall. They find that the lights were off in
the neighborhood because of a malfunction at
0irginia "lectric. They find us, hysterical, gi!ing
answers to their questions that must ha!e
seemed $retty weird. (ho did it. 'ome monster
with sweaty hands. 8ow do we know. +ur dead
friend "lena told us through a +uija board. &s it
any wonder they ha!e their doubts."
"&f they'd ne!er seen anything like it be!ore,"
Bonnie said, hitting the car door with her fist.
"But they have. 6o they think we made u$ those
dogs that attacked at the 'now 6ance last year.
6o they think "lena was killed by a fantasy."
"They're forgetting already," %eredith re$lied
softly. "/ou $redicted it yourself. ,ife has gone
back to normal, and e!erybody in 1ell's Church
feels safer that way. They all feel like they'!e
woken u$ from a bad dream, and the last thing
they want is to get sucked in again."
Bonnie just shook her head.
"#nd so it's easier to belie!e that a bunch of
teenage girls got riled u$ $laying with a +uija
board, and that when the lights went out they
just freaked and ran. #nd one of them got so
scared and confused she ran right out a window."
There was a silence and then %eredith added,
"& wish #laric were here."
ormally, Bonnie would ha!e gi!en her a dig
in the ribs and answered, "'o do &," in a
lecherous !oice. #laric was one of the
handsomest guys she'd e!er seen, e!en if he was
a doddering twenty5two years old. ow, she just
ga!e %eredith's arm a disconsolate squeeze.
"Can't you call him somehow."
"&n 7ussia. & don't e!en know where in
7ussia he is now."
Bonnie bit her li$.
Then she sat u$. %eredith was dri!ing down
,ee 'treet, and in the high school $arking lot
they could see a crowd.
'he and %eredith e-changed glances, and
%eredith nodded. "(e might as well," she said.
",et's see if they're any smarter than their
$arents."
Bonnie could see startled faces turning as the
car cruised slowly into the lot. (hen she and
%eredith got out, $eo$le mo!ed back, making a
$ath for them to the center of the crowd.
Caroline was there, clutching her elbows with
her hands and shaking back her auburn hair
distractedly.
"(e're not going to slee$ in that house again
until it's re$aired," she was saying, shi!ering in
her white sweater. "6addy says we'll take an
a$artment in 8eron until it's o!er."
"(hat difference does that make. 8e can
follow you to 8eron, &'m sure," said %eredith.
Caroline turned, but her green cat's eyes
wouldn't quite meet %eredith's. "(ho." she said
!aguely.
"+h, Caroline, not you too4" Bonnie
e-$loded.
"& just want to get out of here," Caroline said.
8er eyes came u$ and for an instant Bonnie
saw how frightened she was. "& can't take any
more." #s if she had to $ro!e her words that
minute, she $ushed her way through the crowd.
",et her go, Bonnie," %eredith said. "&t's no
use."
""he's no use," said Bonnie furiously. &f
Caroline, who knew, was acting this way, what
about the other kids.
'he saw the answer5in the faces around her.
"!erybody looked scared, as scared as if she and
%eredith had brought some loathsome disease
with them. #s if she and %eredith were the
$roblem.
"& don't belie!e this," Bonnie muttered.
"& don't belie!e it either," said 6eanna
:ennedy, a friend of 'ue's. 'he was in the front
of the crowd, and she didn't look as uneasy as
the others. "& talked with 'ue yesterday
afternoon and she was so u$, so ha$$y. 'he can't
be dead." 6eanna began to sob. 8er boyfriend
$ut an arm around her, and se!eral other girls
began to cry. The guys in the crowd shifted, their
faces rigid.
Bonnie felt a little surge of ho$e. "#nd she's
not going to be the only one dead," she added.
""lena told us that the whole town is in danger.
"lena said9" 6es$ite herself Bonnie heard her
!oice failing. 'he could see it in the way their
eyes glazed u$ when she mentioned "lena's
name. %eredith was right) they'd $ut e!erything
that had ha$$ened last winter behind them. They
didn't belie!e anymore.
"(hat's wrong with you all." she said
hel$lessly, wanting to hit something. "/ou don't
really think 'ue threw herself off that balcony4"
"<eo$le are saying*" 6eanna's boyfriend
started and then shrugged defensi!ely. "(ell*
you told the $olice 0ickie Bennett was in the
room, right. #nd now she's off her head again.
#nd just a little bit earlier you'd heard 'ue
shouting, 'o, 0ickie, no4'."
Bonnie felt as if the wind had been knocked
out of her. "/ou think that Vickie*oh, 3od,
you're out of your mind4 ,isten to me.
'omething grabbed my hand in that house, and it
wasn't 0ickie. #nd 0ickie had nothing to do with
throwing 'ue off that balcony."
"'he's hardly strong enough, for one thing,"
%eredith said $ointedly. "'he weighs about
ninety5fi!e $ounds soaking wet."
'omebody from the back of the crowd
muttered about insane $eo$le ha!ing
su$erhuman strength. "0ickie has a $sychiatric
record*"
""lena told us it was a guy4" Bonnie almost
shouted, losing her battle with self5control. The
faces tilted toward her were shuttered,
unyielding. Then she saw one that made her
chest loosen. "%att4 Tell them you belie!e us."
%att 8oneycutt was standing on the fringe
with his hands in his $ockets and his blond head
bowed. ow he looked u$, and what Bonnie saw
in his blue eyes made her draw in her breath.
They weren't hard and shuttered like e!eryone
else's, but they were full of a flat des$air that
was just as bad. 8e shrugged without taking his
hands from his $ockets.
"1or what it's worth, & belie!e you," he said.
"But what difference does it make. &t's all going
to turn out the same anyway."
Bonnie, for one of the first times in her life,
was s$eechless. %att had been u$set e!er since
"lena died, but this9
"8e does belie!e it, though," %eredith was
saying quickly, ca$italizing on the moment.
"ow what ha!e we got to do to con!ince the
rest of you."
"Channel "l!is for us, maybe," said a !oice
that immediately set Bonnie's blood boiling.
Tyler. Tyler 'mallwood. 3rinning like an a$e in
his o!ere-$ensi!e <erry "llis sweater, showing a
mouthful of strong white teeth.
"&t's not as good as $sychic e5mail from a
dead 8omecoming ;ueen, but it's a start," Tyler
added.
%att always said that grin was asking for a
$unch in the nose. But %att, the only guy in the
crowd with close to Tyler's $hysique, was staring
dully at the ground.
"'hut u$, Tyler4 /ou don't know what
ha$$ened in that house," Bonnie said.
"(ell, neither do you, a$$arently. %aybe if
you hadn't been hiding in the li!ing room, you'd
ha!e seen what ha$$ened. Then somebody might
belie!e you."
Bonnie's retort died on her tongue. 'he stared
at Tyler, o$ened her mouth, and then closed it.
Tyler waited. (hen she didn't s$eak, he showed
his teeth again.
"1or my money, 0ickie did it," he said,
winking at 6ick Carter, 0ickie's e-5boyfriend.
"'he's a strong little babe, right, 6ick. 'he
could ha!e done it." 8e turned and added
deliberately o!er his shoulder, "+r else that
'al!atore guy is back in town."
"/ou cree$4" shouted Bonnie. "!en %eredith
cried out in frustration. Because of course at the
!ery mention of 'tefan $andemonium ensued, as
Tyler must ha!e known it would. "!eryone was
turning to the $erson ne-t to them and
e-claiming in alarm, horror, e-citement. &t was
$rimarily the girls who were e-cited.
"ffecti!ely, it $ut an end to the gathering.
<eo$le had been edging away surre$titiously
before, and now they broke u$ into twos and
threes, arguing and hastening off.
Bonnie gazed after them angrily.
"'u$$osing they did belie!e you. (hat did
you want them to do, anyway." %att said. 'he
hadn't noticed him beside her.
"& don't know. 'omething besides just
standing around waiting to be $icked off." 'he
tried to look him in the face. "%att, are you all
right."
"& don't know. #re you."
Bonnie thought. "o. & mean, in one way &'m
sur$rised &'m doing as well as & am, because
when "lena died, & just couldn't deal. #t all. But
then & wasn't as close to 'ue, and besides9 &
don't know4" 'he wanted to hit something again.
"&t's just all too much4"
"/ou're mad."
"&es, &'m mad." 'uddenly Bonnie understood
the feelings she'd been ha!ing all day. ":illing
'ue wasn't just wrong, it was evil. Truly e!il.
#nd whoe!er did it isn't going to get away with
it. That would be*if the world is like that, a
$lace where that can ha$$en and go
un$unished9 if that's the truth9" 'he found
she didn't ha!e a way to finish.
"Then what. /ou don't want to li!e here
anymore. (hat if the world is like that."
8is eyes were so lost, so bitter. Bonnie was
shaken. But she said staunchly, "& won't let it be
that way. #nd you won't either."
8e sim$ly looked at her as if she were a kid
insisting there was so a 'anta Claus.
%eredith s$oke u$. "&f we e-$ect other $eo$le
to take us seriously, we'd better take oursel!es
seriously. "lena did communicate with us. 'he
wanted us to do something. ow if we really
belie!e that, we'd better figure out what it is."
%att's face had fle-ed at the mention of
"lena. /ou $oor guy, you're still as much in lo!e
with her as e!er, thought Bonnie. & wonder if
anything could make you forget her. 'he said,
"#re you going to hel$ us, %att."
"&'ll hel$," %att said quietly. "But & still don't
know what it is you're doing."
"(e're going to sto$ that murdering cree$
before he kills anybody else," said Bonnie. &t
was the first time she'd fully realized herself that
this was what she meant to do.
"#lone. Because you are alone, you know."
"$e are alone," %eredith corrected. "But
that's what "lena was trying to tell us. 'he said
we had to do a summoning s$ell to call for
hel$."
"#n easy s$ell with only two ingredients,"
Bonnie remembered from her dream. 'he was
getting e-cited. "#nd she said she'd already told
me the ingredients*but she hadn't."
",ast night she said there were corru$ting
influences distorting her communication,"
%eredith said. "ow to me that sounds like what
was ha$$ening in the dream. 6o you think it
really was "lena you were drinking tea with."
"/es," Bonnie said $ositi!ely. "& mean, &
know we weren't really ha!ing a mad tea $arty at
(arm '$rings, but & think "lena was sending
that message into my brain. #nd then $artway
through something else took o!er and $ushed
her out. But she fought, and for a minute at the
end she got back control."
"+kay. Then that means we ha!e to
concentrate on the beginning of the dream, when
it was still "lena communicating with you. But
if what she was saying was already being
distorted by other influences, then maybe it
came out weird. %aybe it wasn't something she
actually said, maybe it was something she
did9"
Bonnie's hand flew u$ to touch her curls.
"8air4" she cried.
"(hat."
"8air4 & asked her who did hers, and we
talked about it, and she said, '8air is !ery
im$ortant.' #nd %eredith*when she was trying
to tell us the ingredients last night, the first letter
of one of them was 84"
"That's it4" %eredith's dark eyes were
flashing. "ow we just ha!e to think of the other
one."
"But & know that too4" Bonnie's laughter
bubbled u$ e-uberantly. "'he told me right after
we talked about hair, and & thought she was just
being strange. 'he said, 'Blood is im$ortant too.'
"
%eredith shut her eyes in realization. "#nd
last night, the +uija board said 'Bloodblood5
blood.' & thought it was the other thing
threatening us, but it wasn't," she said. 'he
o$ened her eyes. "Bonnie, do you think that's
really it. #re those the ingredients, or do we
ha!e to start worrying about mud and
sandwiches and mice and tea."
"Those are the ingredients," Bonnie said
firmly. "They're the kind of ingredients that
make sense for a summoning s$ell. &'m sure &
can find a ritual to do with them in one of my
Celtic magic books. (e just ha!e to figure out
the $erson we're su$$osed to summon9"
'omething struck her, and her !oice trailed off in
dismay.
"& was wondering when you'd notice," %att
said, s$eaking for the first time in a long while.
"/ou don't know who it is, do you."
Four
%eredith tilted an ironic glance at %att.
"8mm," she said. "ow, who do you think "lena
would call in time of trouble."
Bonnie's grin ga!e way to a twinge of guilt at
%att's e-$ression. &t wasn't fair to tease him
about this. ""lena said that the killer is too
strong for us and that's why we need hel$," she
told %att. "#nd & can think of only one $erson
"lena knows who could fight off a $sychic
killer."
'lowly, %att nodded. Bonnie couldn't tell
what he was feeling. 8e and 'tefan had been
best friends once, e!en after "lena had chosen
'tefan o!er %att. But that had been before %att
found out what 'tefan was, and what kind of
!iolence he was ca$able of. &n his rage and grief
o!er "lena's death 'tefan had nearly killed Tyler
'mallwood and fi!e other guys. Could %att
really forget that. Could he e!en deal with
'tefan coming back to 1ell's Church.
%att's square5jawed face ga!e no sign now,
and %eredith was talking again. "'o all we need
to do is let some blood and cut some hair. /ou
won't miss a curl or two, will you, Bonnie."
Bonnie was so abstracted that she almost
missed this. Then she shook her head. "o, no,
no. &t isn't our blood and hair we need. (e need
it from the $erson we want to summon."
"(hat. But that's ridiculous. &f we had
"te!an's blood and hair we wouldn't need to
summon him, would we."
"& didn't think of that," Bonnie admitted.
"Asually with a summoning s$ell you get the
stuff beforehand and use it when you want to
call a $erson back. (hat are we going to do,
%eredith. &t's im$ossible."
%eredith's brows were drawn together. "(hy
would "lena ask it if it were im$ossible."
""lena asked lots of im$ossible things,"
Bonnie said darkly. "6on't look like that, %att)
you know she did. 'he wasn't a saint."
"%aybe, but this one isn't im$ossible," %att
said. "& can think of one $lace where 'tefan's
blood has got to be, and if we're lucky some of
his hair, too. &n the cry$t."
Bonnie flinched, but %eredith sim$ly nodded.
"+f course," she said. "(hile 'tefan was tied
u$ there, he must ha!e bled all o!er the $lace.
#nd in that kind of fight he might ha!e lost
some hair. &f only e!erything down there has
been left undisturbed9"
"& don't think anybody's been down there
since "lena died," %att said. "The $olice
in!estigated and then left it. But there's only one
way to find out."
& was wrong, Bonnie thought. & was worrying
about whether %att could deal with 'tefan
coming back, and here he is doing e!erything he
can to hel$ us summon him. "%att, & could kiss
you4" she said.
1or an instant something she couldn't identify
flickered in %att's eyes. 'ur$rise, certainly, but
there was more than that. 'uddenly Bonnie
wondered what he would do if she did kiss him.
"#ll the girls say that," he re$lied calmly at
last, with a shrug of mock resignation. &t was as
close as he'd gotten to lightheartedness all day.
%eredith, howe!er, was serious. ",et's go.
(e'!e got a lot to do, and the last thing we want
is to get stuck in the cry$t after dark."

The cry$t was beneath the ruined church that
stood on a hill in the cemetery. &t's only late
afternoon, $lenty of light left, Bonnie ke$t
telling herself as they walked u$ the hill, but
goose5flesh broke out on her arms anyway. The
modern cemetery on one side was bad enough,
but the old gra!eyard on the other side was
downright s$ooky e!en in daylight. There were
so many crumbling headstones tilting crazily in
the o!ergrown grass, re$resenting so many
young men killed in the Ci!il (ar. /ou didn't
ha!e to be $sychic to feel their $resence.
"Anquiet s$irits," she muttered.
"8mm." said %eredith as she ste$$ed o!er
the $ile of rubble that was one wall of the ruined
church. ",ook, the lid of the tomb's still off.
That's good news) & don't think we would ha!e
been able to lift it."
Bonnie's eyes lingered wistfully on the white
marble statues car!ed on the dis$laced lid. 8on5
oria 1ell lay there with her husband, hands
folded on her breast, looking as gentle and sad as
e!er. But Bonnie knew there would be no more
hel$ from that quarter. 8onoria's duties as
$rotector of the town she'd founded were done.
,ea!ing "lena holding the bag, Bonnie
thought grimly, looking down into the
rectangular hole that led to the cry$t. &ron rungs
disa$$eared into darkness.
"!en with the hel$ of %eredith's flashlight it
was hard to climb down into that underground
room. &nside, it was dank and silent, the walls
faced with $olished stone. Bonnie tried not to
shi!er.
",ook," said %eredith quietly.
%att had the flashlight trained on the iron
gate that se$arated the anteroom of the cry$t
from its main chamber. The stone below was
stained black with blood in se!eral $laces.
,ooking at the $uddles and ri!ulets of dried gore
made Bonnie feel dizzy.
"(e know 6amon was hurt the worst,"
%eredith said, mo!ing forward. 'he sounded
calm, but Bonnie could hear the tight control in
her !oice. "'o he must ha!e been on this side
where there's the most blood. 'tefan said "lena
was in the center. That means 'tefan himself
must ha!e been9 here." 'he bent down.
"&'ll do it," %att said gruffly. "/ou hold the
light." (ith a $lastic $icnic knife from
%eredith's car he scra$ed at the encrusted stone.
Bonnie swallowed, glad she'd had only tea for
lunch. Blood was all right in the abstract, but
when you were actually confronted with so
much of it*es$ecially when it was the blood of
a friend who'd been tortured9
Bonnie turned away, looking at the stone
walls and thinking about :atherine. Both 'tefan
and his older brother, 6amon, had been in lo!e
with :atherine, back in fifteenth5century
1lorence. But what they hadn't known was that
the girl they lo!ed wasn't human. # !am$ire in
her own 3erman !illage had changed her to sa!e
her life when she was ill. :atherine in her turn
had made both the boys !am$ires.
#nd then, thought Bonnie, she faked her own
death to get 'tefan and 6amon to sto$ fighting
o!er her. But it didn't work. They hated each
other more than e!er, and she hated both of them
for that. 'he'd gone back to the !am$ire who
made her, and o!er the years she'd turned as e!il
as he was. Antil at last all she wanted to do was
destroy the brothers she had once lo!ed. 'he'd
lured them both to 1ell's Church to kill them,
and this room was where she'd almost succeeded
in doing it. "lena had died sto$$ing her.
"There," %att said, and Bonnie blinked and
came back to herself. %att was standing with a
$a$er na$kin that now held flakes of 'tefan's
blood in its folds. "ow the hair," he said.
They swe$t the floor with their fingers,
finding dust and bits of lea!es and fragments of
things Bonnie didn't want to identify. #mong the
detritus were long strands of $ale gold hair.
"lena's*or :atherine's, Bonnie thought. They
had looked much alike. There were also shorter
strands of dark hair, cris$ with a slight wa!e.
'tefan's.
&t was slow, finicky work sorting through it all
and $utting the right hairs in another na$kin.
%att did most of it. (hen they were through,
they were all tired and the light sifting down
through the rectangular o$ening in the ceiling
was dim blue. But %eredith smiled tigerishly.
"(e'!e got it," she said. "Tyler wants 'tefan
back) well, we'll gi!e him 'tefan back."
#nd Bonnie, who had been only half $aying
attention to what she was doing, still lost in her
own thoughts, froze.
'he'd been thinking about other things
entirely, nothing to do with Tyler, but at the
mention of his name something had winked on
in her mind. 'omething she'd realized in the
$arking lot and then forgotten afterward in the
heat of arguing. %eredith's words had triggered
it and now it was suddenly all clear again. 8ow
had he known4 she wondered, heart racing.
"Bonnie. (hat's the matter."
"%eredith," she said softly, "did you tell the
$olice s$ecifically that we were in the li!ing
room when e!erything was going on u$stairs
with 'ue."
"o, & think & just said we were downstairs.
(hy."
"Because & didn't either. #nd 0ickie couldn't
ha!e told them because she's gone catatonic
again, and 'ue's dead and Caroline was outside
by that time. But +yler knew. 7emember, he said,
'&f you hadn't been hiding in the li!ing room,
you'd ha!e seen what ha$$ened.' 8ow could he
know."
"Bonnie, if you're trying to suggest Tyler was
the murderer, it just won't wash. 8e's not smart
enough to organize a killing s$ree, for one
thing," %eredith said.
"But there's something else. %eredith, last
year at the =unior <rom, Tyler touched me on my
bare shoulder. &'ll ne!er forget it. 8is hand was
big, and meaty, and hot, and dam$." Bonnie
shi!ered at the recollection. "=ust like the hand
that grabbed me last night."
But %eredith was shaking her head, and e!en
%att looked uncon!inced.
""lena's sure wasting her time asking us to
bring back 'tefan, then," he said. "& could take
care of Tyler with a cou$le of right hooks."
"Think about it, Bonnie," %eredith added.
"6oes Tyler ha!e the $sychic $ower to mo!e a
+uija board or come into your dreams. ,oes
he."
8e didn't. <sychically s$eaking, Tyler was as
much a dud as Caroline. Bonnie couldn't deny it.
But she couldn't deny her intuition, either. &t
didn't make sense, but she still felt Tyler had
been in the house last night.
"(e'd better get mo!ing," %eredith said. "&t's
dark, and your father's going to be furious."
They were all silent on the ride home. Bonnie
was still thinking about Tyler. +nce at her house
they smuggled the na$kins u$stairs and began
looking through Bonnie's books on 6ruids and
Celtic magic. "!er since she'd disco!ered that
she was descended from the ancient race of
magic workers, Bonnie had been interested in
the 6ruids. #nd in one of the books she found a
ritual for a summoning s$ell.
"(e need to buy candles," she said. "#nd
$ure water*better get some bottled," she said to
%eredith. "#nd chalk to draw a circle on the
floor, and something to make a small fire in. &
can find those in the house. There's no hurry) the
s$ell has to be done at midnight."
%idnight was a long time coming. %eredith
bought the necessary items at a grocery store and
brought them back. They ate dinner with
Bonnie's family, though no one had much of an
a$$etite. By ele!en o'clock Bonnie had the circle
drawn on the hardwood floor of her bedroom
and all the other ingredients on a low bench
inside the circle. +n the stroke of twel!e she
started.
(ith %att and %eredith watching, she made a
small fire in an earthenware bowl. Three candles
were burning behind the bowl) she stuck a $in
halfway down the one in the center. Then she
unfolded a na$kin and carefully stirred the dried
flakes of blood into a wineglass of water. &t
turned rusty $ink.
'he o$ened the other na$kin. Three $inches of
dark hair went into the fire, sizzling with a
terrible smell. Then three dro$s of the stained
water, hissing.
8er eyes went to the words in the o$en book.
"wi!t on the heel thou
comest,
+hrice summoned by
my s#ell,
+hrice troubled by my
burning.
Come to me without
delay.
'he read the words aloud slowly, three times.
Then she sat back on her heels. The fire went on
burning smokily. The candle flames danced.
"#nd now what." %att said.
"& don't know. &t just says wait for the middle
candle to burn down to the $in."
"#nd what then."
"& guess we'll find out when it ha$$ens."

&n 1lorence, it was dawn.
'tefan watched the girl mo!e down the
stairway, one hand resting lightly on the banister
to kee$ her balance. 8er mo!ements were slow
and slightly dreamlike, as if she were floating.
'uddenly, she swayed and clutched at the
banister more tightly. 'tefan mo!ed quickly
behind her and $ut a hand under her elbow.
"#re you all right."
'he looked u$ at him with the same
dreaminess. 'he was !ery $retty. 8er e-$ensi!e
clothes were the latest fashion and her stylishly
disarrayed hair was blond. # tourist. 8e knew
she was #merican before she s$oke.
"/es9 & think9" 8er brown eyes were
unfocused.
"6o you ha!e a way to get home. (here are
you staying."
"+n 0ia dei Conti, near the %edici cha$el.
&'m with the 3onzaga in 1lorence $rogram."
6amn4 ot a tourist, then) a student. #nd that
meant she'd be carrying this story back with her,
telling her classmates about the handsome &talian
guy she'd met last night. The one with night5dark
eyes. The one who took her back to his e-clusi!e
$lace on 0ia Tornabuoni and wined her and
dined her and then, in the moonlight, maybe, in
his room or out in the enclosed courtyard, leaned
close to look into her eyes and9
'tefan's gaze slid away from the girl's throat
with its two reddened $uncture wounds. 8e'd
seen marks like that so often*how could they
still ha!e the $ower to disturb him. But they did)
they sickened him and set a slow burning in his
gut.
"(hat's your name."
"7achael. (ith an a." 'he s$elled it.
"#ll right, 7achael. ,ook at me. /ou will go
back to your #ensione and you won't remember
anything about last night. /ou don't know where
you went or who you saw. #nd you'!e ne!er
seen me before, either. 7e$eat."
"& don't remember anything about last night,"
she said obediently, her eyes on his. 'tefan's
<owers were not as strong as they would ha!e
been if he'd been drinking human blood, but they
were strong enough for this. "& don't know where
& went or who & saw. & ha!en't seen you."
"3ood. 6o you ha!e money to get back.
8ere." 'tefan $ulled a fistful of crum$led lire*
mostly B?,??? and C??,??? notes*out of his
$ocket and led her outside.
(hen she was safely in a cab, he went back
inside and made straight for 6amon's bedroom.
6amon was lounging near the window,
$eeling an orange, not e!en dressed yet. 8e
looked u$, annoyed, as 'tefan entered.
"&t's customary to knock," he said.
"(here'd you meet her." said 'tefan. #nd
then, when 6amon turned a blank stare on him,
he added, "That girl. 7achael."
"(as that her name. & don't think & bothered
to ask. #t Bar 3illi. +r $erha$s it was Bar
%ario. (hy."
'tefan struggled to contain his anger. "That's
not the only thing you didn't bother to do. /ou
didn't bother to influence her to forget you,
either. 6o you want to get caught, 6amon."
6amon's li$s cur!ed in a smile and he twisted
off a curlicue of orange $eel. "& am never caught,
little brother," he said.
"'o what are you going to do when they come
after you. (hen somebody realizes, '%y 3od,
there's a bloodsucking monster on 0ia
Tornabuoni'. :ill them all. (ait until they break
down the front door and then melt away into
darkness."
6amon met his gaze directly, challengingly,
that faint smile still clinging about his li$s.
"(hy not." he said.
"6amn you4" said 'tefan. ",isten to me,
6amon. This has got to sto$."
"&'m touched at your concern for my safety."
"&t isn't fair, 6amon. To take an unwilling girl
like that*"
"+h, she was willing, brother. 'he was !ery,
!ery willing."
"6id you tell her what you were going to do.
6id you warn her about the consequences of
e-changing blood with a !am$ire. The
nightmares, the $sychic !isions. (as she willing
for that-" 6amon clearly wasn't going to re$ly,
so he went on. "/ou know it's wrong."
"#s a matter of fact, & do." (ith that, 6amon
ga!e one of his sudden, unner!ing smiles,
turning it on and off instantly.
"#nd you don't care," 'tefan said dully,
looking away.
6amon tossed away the orange. 8is tone was
silky, $ersuasi!e. ",ittle brother, the world is full
of what you call 'wrong,' " he said. "(hy not
rela- and join the winning side. &t's much more
fun, & assure you."
'tefan felt himself go hot with anger. "8ow
can you e!en say that." he flashed back. "6idn't
you learn anything from :atherine. "he chose
'the winning side.' "
":atherine died too quickly," said 6amon. 8e
was smiling again, but his eyes were cold.
"#nd now all you can think about is re!enge."
,ooking at his brother, 'tefan felt a crushing
weight settle on his own chest. "That and your
own $leasure," he said.
"(hat else is there. <leasure is the only
reality, little brother*$leasure and $ower. #nd
you're a hunter by nature, just as much as & am,"
6amon said. 8e added, "& don't remember
in!iting you to come to 1lorence with me,
anyway. 'ince you're not enjoying yourself, why
don't you just lea!e."
The weight in 'tefan's chest tightened
suddenly, unbearably, but his gaze, locked with
6amon's, did not wa!er. "/ou know why," he
said quietly. #nd at last he had the satisfaction of
seeing 6amon's eyes dro$.
'tefan himself could hear "lena's words in his
mind. 'he'd been dying then, and her !oice had
been weak, but he'd heard her clearly. &ou have
to take care o! each other. "te!an, will you
#romise- 'romise to take care o! each other.
#nd he had $romised, and he would kee$ his
word. o matter what.
"/ou know why & don't lea!e," he said again
to 6amon, who wouldn't look at him. "/ou can
$retend you don't care. /ou can fool the whole
world. But & know differently." &t would ha!e
been kindest at this $oint to lea!e 6amon alone,
but 'tefan wasn't in a kind mood. "/ou know
that girl you $icked u$, 7achael." he added.
"The hair was all right, but her eyes were the
wrong color. "lena's eyes were blue."
(ith that he turned, meaning to lea!e 6amon
here to think it o!er*if 6amon would do
anything so constructi!e, of course. But he ne!er
made it to the door.

"&t's there4" said %eredith shar$ly, her eyes on
the candle flame and the $in.
Bonnie sucked in her breath. 'omething was
o$ening in front of her like a sil!er thread, a
sil!er tunnel of communication. 'he was rushing
along it, with no way to sto$ herself or check her
s$eed. +h, 3od, she thought, when & reach the
end and hit*

The flash in 'tefan's head was soundless,
lightless, and $owerful as a thundercla$. #t the
same time he felt a !iolent, wrenching tug. #n
urge to follow*something. This was not like
:atherine's sly subliminal nudging to go
somewhere) this was a $sychic shout. #
command that could not be disobeyed.
&nside the flash he sensed a $resence, but he
could scarcely belie!e who it was.
Bonnie-
"te!an* It's you* It worked*
Bonnie, what have you done.
lena told me to. .onestly, "te!an, she did.
$e're in trouble and we need*
#nd that was it. The communication
colla$sed, ca!ing in on itself, dwindling to a
$in$oint. &t was gone, and in its aftermath the
room !ibrated with <ower.
'tefan and his brother were left staring at
each other.

Bonnie let out a long breath she hadn't
realized she'd been holding and o$ened her eyes,
though she didn't remember closing them. 'he
was lying on her back. %att and %eredith were
crouched o!er her, looking alarmed.
"(hat ha$$ened. 6id it work." %eredith
demanded.
"&t worked." 'he let them hel$ her u$. "& made
contact with 'tefan. & talked to him. ow all we
can do is wait and see if he's coming or not."
"6id you mention "lena." %att asked.
"/es."
"Then he's coming."
Five
Monday, /une 0, 11213 '.M.
,ear ,iary,
I don't seem to be slee#ing very well tonight,
so I might as well write you. All day today I've
been waiting !or something to ha##en. &ou don't
do a s#ell like that and have it work like that
and then have nothing ha##en.
But nothing has. I stayed home !rom school
because Mom thought I should. "he was u#set
about Matt and Meredith staying so late "unday
night, and she said I needed to get some rest.
But every time I lie down I see "ue's !ace.
"ue's dad did the eulogy at lena's !uneral. I
wonder who's going to do it !or "ue on
$ednesday-
I've got to sto# thinking about things like this.
Maybe I'll try to go to slee# again. Maybe i! I
lie down with my head#hones on, I won't see
"ue.

Bonnie $ut the diary back in her nightstand
drawer and took out her (alkman. 'he fli$$ed
through the channels as she stared at the ceiling
with hea!y eyes. Through the crackle and s$utter
of static a 6.=.'s !oice sounded in her ear.
"#nd here's a golden oldie for all you
fabulous fifties fans. '3oodnight 'weetheart' on
the 0ee =ay label by The '$aniels9"
Bonnie drifted away on the music.

The ice cream soda was strawberry, Bonnie's
fa!orite. The jukebo- was $laying '3oodnight
'weetheart' and the counter was squeaky clean.
But "lena, Bonnie decided, would ne!er ha!e
really worn a $oodle skirt.
"o $oodles," she said, gesturing at it. "lena
looked u$ from her hot fudge sundae. 8er blond
hair was $ulled back in a $onytail. "(ho thinks
of these things anyway." Bonnie asked.
"/ou do, silly. &'m only !isiting."
"+h." Bonnie took a $ull at the soda. 6reams.
There was a reason to be afraid of dreams, but
she couldn't think of it just now.
"& can't stay long," "lena said. "& think he
already knows &'m here. & just came to tell
you9" 'he frowned.
Bonnie looked at her sym$athetically. "Can't
you remember either." 'he drank more soda. &t
tasted odd.
"& died too young, Bonnie. There was so
much & was su$$osed to do, to accom$lish. #nd
now & ha!e to hel$ you."
"Thanks," Bonnie said.
"This isn't easy, you know. & don't ha!e that
much $ower. &t's hard getting through, and it's
hard kee$ing e!erything together."
"3otta kee$ it together," Bonnie agreed,
nodding. 'he was feeling strangely lightheaded.
(hat was in this soda.
"& don't ha!e much control, and things turn
out strange somehow. 8e's doing it, & guess. 8e's
always fighting me. 8e watches you. #nd e!ery
time we try to communicate, he comes."
"+kay." The room was floating.
"Bonnie, are you listening to me. 8e can use
your fear against you. &t's the way he gets in."
"+kay9"
"But don't let him in. Tell e!eryone that. #nd
tell 'tefan9" "lena sto$$ed and $ut a hand to
her mouth. 'omething fell onto the hot fudge
sundae.
&t was a tooth.
"8e's here." "lena's !oice was strange,
indistinct. Bonnie stared at the tooth in
mesmerized horror. &t was lying in the middle of
the whi$$ed cream, among the sli!ered almonds.
"Bonnie, tell 'tefan9"
#nother tooth $lunked down, and another.
"lena sobbed, both her hands at her mouth now.
8er eyes were terrified, hel$less. "Bonnie, don't
go9"
But Bonnie was stumbling back. "!erything
was whirling around. The soda was bubbling out
of the glass, but it wasn't soda) it was blood.
Bright red and frothy, like something you
coughed u$ when you died. Bonnie's stomach
con!ulsed.
"Tell 'tefan & lo!e him4" &t was the !oice of a
toothless old woman, and it ended in hysterical
sobs. Bonnie was glad to fall into darkness and
forget e!erything.

Bonnie nibbled at the end of her felt $en, her
eyes on the clock, her mind on the calendar.
"ight and a half more days of school to sur!i!e.
#nd it looked as if e!ery minute was going to be
misery.
'ome guy had said it outright, backing away
from her on the stairs. "o offense, but your
friends kee$ turning u$ dead." Bonnie had gone
into the bathroom and cried.
But now all she wanted was to be out of
school, away from the tragic faces and accusing
eyes*or worse, the #itying eyes. The $rinci$al
had gi!en a s$eech o!er the <.#. about "this new
misfortune" and "this terrible loss," and Bonnie
had felt the eyes on her back as if they were
boring holes there.
(hen the bell rang, she was the first $erson
out the door. But instead of going to her ne-t
class she went to the bathroom again, where she
waited for the ne-t bell. Then, once the halls
were em$ty, she hurried toward the foreign
language wing. 'he $assed bulletins and banners
for end5of5the5year e!ents without glancing at
them. (hat did '#Ts matter, what did
graduation matter, what did anything matter
anymore. They might all be dead by the end of
the month.
'he nearly ran into the $erson standing in the
hall. 8er gaze jerked u$, off her own feet, to take
in fashionably ratty deck shoes, some foreign
kind. #bo!e that were jeans, body hugging, old
enough to look soft o!er hard muscles. arrow
hi$s. ice chest. 1ace to dri!e a scul$tor crazy2
sensuous mouth, high cheekbones. 6ark
sunglasses. 'lightly tousled black hair. Bonnie
stood ga$ing a moment.
+h, my 3od, & forgot how gorgeous he is, she
thought. "lena, forgi!e me) &'m going to grab
him.
"'tefan4" she said.
Then her mind wrenched her back into reality
again and she cast a hunted look around. o one
was in eyeshot. 'he grabbed his arm.
"#re you crazy, showing u$ here. #re you
nuts-"
"& had to find you. & thought it was urgent."
"&t is, but*" 8e looked so incongruous,
standing there in the high school hallway. 'o
e-otic. ,ike a zebra in a flock of shee$. 'he
started $ushing him toward a broom closet.
8e wasn't going. #nd he was stronger than
she was. "Bonnie, you said you'd talked to*"
"/ou ha!e to hide4 &'ll go get %att and
%eredith and bring them back here and then we
can talk. But if anybody sees you, you're
$robably going to get lynched. There's been
another murder."
'tefan's face changed, and he let her $ush him
toward the closet. 8e started to say something,
then clearly decided not to.
"&'ll wait," he said sim$ly.
&t took only a few minutes to find %att in auto
tech and %eredith in economics class. They
hurried back to the broom closet and bustled
'tefan out of school as incons$icuously as
$ossible, which wasn't !ery.
'omeone's bound to ha!e seen us, Bonnie
thought. &t all de$ends on who, and how much of
a blab they are.
"(e ha!e to get him some$lace safe*not to
any of our houses," %eredith was saying. They
were all walking as fast as they could through
the high school $arking lot.
"1ine, but where. (ait a minute, what about
the boarding house9 ." Bonnie's !oice trailed
off. There was a little black car in the $arking
slot in front of her. #n &talian car, sleek, s!elte,
and se-y looking. #ll the windows were tinted
illegally dark) you couldn't e!en see inside. Then
Bonnie made out the stallion emblem on the
back.
"+h, my )od"
'tefan glanced at the 1errari distractedly. "&t's
6amon's."
Three sets of eyes turned to him in shock.
",amon's." Bonnie said, hearing the squeak in
her own !oice. 'he ho$ed 'tefan meant 6amon
had just loaned it to him.
But the car window was rolling down to
re!eal black hair as sleek and liquidy as the car's
$aint job, mirrored glasses, and a !ery white
smile. "Buon giorno," said 6amon smoothly.
"#nybody need a ride."
"+h, my 3od," Bonnie said again, faintly. But
she didn't back away.
'tefan was !isibly im$atient. "(e'll head for
the boarding house. /ou follow. <ark behind the
barn so nobody sees your car."
%eredith had to lead Bonnie away from the
1errari. &t wasn't that Bonnie liked 6amon or
that she was e!er going to let him kiss her again
as he had at #laric's $arty. 'he knew he was
dangerous) not as bad as :atherine had been,
maybe, but bad. 8e'd killed wantonly, just for
the fun of it. 8e'd killed %r. Tanner, the history
teacher, at the 8aunted 8ouse fund5raiser last
8alloween. 8e might kill again at any time.
%aybe that was why Bonnie felt like a mouse
staring at a shining black snake when she looked
at him.
&n the $ri!acy of %eredith's car Bonnie and
%eredith e-changed glances.
"'tefan shouldn't ha!e brought him," said
%eredith.
"%aybe he just came," Bonnie offered. 'he
didn't think 6amon was the sort of $erson who
got brought anywhere.
"(hy should he. ot to hel$ us, that's for
sure."
%att said nothing. 8e didn't e!en seem to
notice the tension in the car. 8e just stared
through the windshield, lost in himself.
The sky was clouding u$.
"%att."
"=ust lea!e it alone, Bonnie," said %eredith.
(onderful, thought Bonnie, de$ression
settling like a dark blanket o!er her. %att and
'tefan and 6amon, all together, all thinking
about "lena.
They $arked behind the old barn, ne-t to the
low black car. (hen they went inside, 'tefan
was standing alone. 8e turned and Bonnie saw
that he'd taken off his sunglasses. The faintest
chill went through her, just the lightest $rickling
of the hairs on her arms and neck. 'tefan wasn't
like any other guy she'd e!er met. 8is eyes were
so green) green as oak lea!es in the s$ring. But
just now they had shadows underneath.
There was a moment of awkwardness) the
three of them standing on one side and looking
at 'tefan without a word. o one seemed to
know what to say.
Then %eredith went o!er to him and took his
hand. "/ou look tired," she said.
"& came as soon as & could." 8e $ut an arm
around her in a brief, almost hesitant hug. 8e
ne!er would ha!e done that in the old days,
Bonnie thought. 8e used to be so reser!ed.
'he came forward for her own hug. 'tefan's
skin was cool under the T5shirt, and she had to
make herself not shi!er. (hen she $ulled back,
her eyes were swimming. (hat did she feel now
that 'tefan 'al!atore was back in 1ell's Church.
7elief. 'adness for the memories he brought
with him. 1ear. #ll she could tell was that she
wanted to cry.
'tefan and %att were looking at each other.
8ere we go, thought Bonnie. &t was almost
funny) the same e-$ression was on both their
faces. 8urt and tired, and trying not to show it.
o matter what, "lena would always be between
them.
#t last, %att stuck out his hand and 'tefan
shook it. They both ste$$ed back, looking glad
to ha!e it o!er with.
"(here's 6amon." said %eredith.
"<oking around. & thought we might want a
few minutes without him."
"(e want a few decades without him,"
Bonnie said before she could sto$ herself, and
%eredith said, "8e can't be trusted, 'tefan."
"& think you're wrong," 'tefan said quietly.
"8e can be a big hel$ if he $uts his mind to it."
"&n between killing a few of the locals e!ery
other night." %eredith said, her eyebrows u$.
"/ou shouldn't ha!e brought him, 'tefan."
"But he didn't." The !oice came from behind
Bonnie, behind and frighteningly close. Bonnie
jum$ed and made an instincti!e lunge for %att,
who gri$$ed her shoulder.
6amon smiled briefly, just one corner of his
mouth u$. 8e'd taken off his sunglasses, but his
eyes weren't green. They were black as the
s$aces between the stars. 8e's almost better
looking than 'tefan, Bonnie thought wildly,
finding %att's fingers and hanging on to them.
"'o she's yours now, is she." 6amon said to
%att casually.
"o," %att said, but his gri$ on Bonnie didn't
loosen.
"'tefan didn't bring you." $rom$ted %eredith
from the other side. +f all of them, she seemed
least affected by 6amon, least afraid of him,
least susce$tible to him.
"o," 6amon said, still looking at Bonnie. 8e
doesn't turn like other $eo$le, she thought. 8e
goes on looking at whate!er he wants no matter
who's talking. "/ou did," he said.
"%e." Bonnie shrank a little, uncertain who
he meant.
"/ou. /ou did the s$ell, didn't you."
"The9" +h, hell. # $icture blossomed in
Bonnie's mind, of black hair on a white na$kin.
8er eyes went to 6amon's hair, finer and
straighter than 'tefan's but just as dark.
+b!iously %att had made a mistake in the
sorting.
'tefan's !oice was im$atient. "/ou sent for us,
Bonnie. (e came. (hat's going on."
They took seats on the decaying bales of hay,
all e-ce$t 6amon, who remained standing.
'tefan was leaning forward, hands on knees,
looking at Bonnie.
"/ou told me*you said that "lena s$oke to
you." There was a $erce$tible $ause before he
got the name out. 8is face was tense with
control.
"/es." 'he managed a smile for him. "& had
this dream, 'tefan, this !ery strange dream9"
'he told him about it, and about what had
ha$$ened after. &t took a long time. 'tefan
listened intently, his green eyes flaring e!ery
time she mentioned "lena. (hen she told about
the end of Caroline's $arty and how they had
found 'ue's body in the backyard, the blood
drained from his face, but he said nothing.
"The $olice came and said she was dead, but
we knew that already," Bonnie finished. "#nd
they took 0ickie away*$oor 0ickie was just
ra!ing. They wouldn't let us talk to her, and her
mother hangs u$ if we call. 'ome $eo$le are
e!en saying 0ickie did it, which is insane. But
they won't belie!e that "lena talked to us, so
they won't belie!e anything she said."
"#nd what she said was 'he,' " %eredith
interru$ted. "'e!eral times. &t's a man) someone
with a lot of $sychic $ower."
"#nd it was a man who grabbed my hand in
the hallway," said Bonnie. 'he told 'tefan about
her sus$icion of Tyler, but as %eredith $ointed
out, Tyler didn't fit the rest of the descri$tion.
8e had neither the brains nor the $sychic
$ower to be the one "lena was warning them
about.
"(hat about Caroline." 'tefan asked. "Could
she ha!e seen anything."
"'he was out front," %eredith said. "'he
found the door and got out while we were all
running. 'he heard the screams, but she was too
frightened to go back in the house. #nd to be
honest, & don't blame her."
"'o nobody actually saw what ha$$ened
e-ce$t 0ickie."
"o. #nd 0ickie's not telling." Bonnie $icked
u$ the story where she had left off. "+nce we
realized nobody would belie!e us, we
remembered "lena's message about the
summoning s$ell. (e figured it must ha!e been
you she wanted to summon, because she thought
you could do something to hel$. 'o9 can you."
"& can try," 'tefan said. 8e got u$ and walked
a little distance away, turning his back on them.
8e stood like that in silence a while, unmo!ing.
#t last he turned back and looked Bonnie in the
eyes. "Bonnie," he said, quiet but intense, "in
your dreams you actually s$oke to "lena face to
face. 6o you think if you went into a trance you
could do it again."
Bonnie was a little frightened by what she
saw in his eyes. They were blazing emerald
green in his $ale face. #ll at once it was as if she
could see behind the mask of control he wore.
Anderneath was so much $ain, so much longing
*so much of that intensity that she could hardly
bear to look at it.
"& could, maybe9 but 'tefan5*"
"Then we'll do it. 7ight here, right now. #nd
we'll see i! you can take me with you." Those
eyes were mesmerizing, not with any hidden
<ower, but with the sheer force of his will.
Bonnie wanted to do it for him*he made her
want to do anything for him. But the memory of
that last dream was too much. 'he couldn't face
that horror again) she couldn't.
"'tefan, it's too dangerous. & could be o$ening
myself u$ to anything*and &'m scared. &f that
thing gets hold of my mind, & don't know what
might ha$$en. & can't, 'tefan. <lease. "!en with
a +uija board, it's just in!iting him to come."
1or a moment she thought he was going to try
to make her do it. 8is mouth tightened in an
obstinate line, and his eyes blazed e!en brighter.
But then, slowly, the fire died out of them.
Bonnie felt her heart tear. "'tefan, &'m sorry,"
she whis$ered.
"(e'll just ha!e to do it on our own," he said.
The mask was back on, but his smile looked
stiff, as if it hurt him. Then he s$oke more
briskly. "1irst we ha!e to find out who this killer
is, what he wants here. #ll we know now is that
something e!il has come to 1ell's Church again."
"But why." said Bonnie. "(hy would
anything e!il just ha$$en to $ick here. 8a!en't
we been through enough."
"&t does seem a bit of a strange coincidence,"
%eredith said drolly. "(hy should we be so
singularly blessed."
"&t's not coincidence," said 'tefan. 8e got u$
and lifted his hands as if unsure how to start.
"There are some $laces on this earth that are9
different," he said. "That are full of $sychic
energy, either $ositi!e or negati!e, good or e!il.
'ome of them ha!e always been that way, like
the Bermuda Triangle and 'alisbury <lain, the
$lace where they built 'tonehenge. +thers
become that way, es$ecially where a lot of blood
has been shed." 8e looked at Bonnie.
"Anquiet s$irits," she whis$ered.
"/es. There was a battle here, wasn't there."
"&n the Ci!il (ar," %att said. "That's how the
church in the cemetery got ruined. &t was a
slaughter on both sides. obody won, but almost
e!eryone who fought got killed. The woods are
full of their gra!es."
"#nd the ground was soaked with blood. #
$lace like that draws the su$ernatural to it. &t
draws e!il to it. That's why :atherine was
attracted to 1ell's Church in the first $lace. & felt
it too, when & first came here."
"#nd now something else has come,"
%eredith said, $erfectly serious for once. "But
how are we su$$osed to fight it."
"(e ha!e to know what we're fighting first. &
think9" But before he could finish, there was a
creak and $ale, dusty sunlight fell across the
bales of hay. The barn door had o$ened.
"!eryone tensed defensi!ely, ready to jum$
u$ and run or fight. The figure nudging the huge
door back with one elbow, howe!er, was
anything but menacing.
%rs. 1lowers, who owned the boarding house,
smiled at them, her little black eyes crinkling
into wrinkles. 'he was carrying a tray.
"& thought you children might like something
to drink while you're talking," she said
comfortably.
"!eryone e-changed disconcerted glances.
8ow had she known they were out here. #nd
how could she be so calm about it.
"8ere you go," %rs. 1lowers continued. "This
is gra$e juice, made from my own Concord
gra$es." 'he $ut a $a$er cu$ beside %eredith,
then %att, then Bonnie. "#nd here are some
gingersna$ cookies. 1resh." 'he held the $late
around. Bonnie noticed she didn't offer any to
'tefan or 6amon.
"/ou two can come round to the cellar if you
like and try some of my blackberry wine," she
said to them, with what Bonnie would swear was
a wink.
'tefan took a dee$, wary breath. "Ah, look,
%rs. 1lowers9"
"#nd your old room's just like you left it.
obody's been u$ there since you went. /ou can
use it when you want) it won't $ut me out a bit."
'tefan seemed at a loss for words. "(ell*
thank you. Thank you !ery much. But*"
"&f you're worried &'ll say something to
somebody, you can set your mind at ease. & don't
tend to run off at the mouth. e!er ha!e, ne!er
will. 8ow's that gra$e juice."*turning suddenly
on Bonnie.
Bonnie hastily took a gul$. "3ood," she said
truthfully.
"(hen you finish, throw the cu$s in the trash.
& like things ke$t tidy." %rs. 1lowers cast a look
about the barn, shaking her head and sighing.
"'uch a shame. 'uch a $retty girl." 'he looked
at 'tefan $iercingly with eyes like ony- beads.
"/ou'!e got your work cut out for you this time,
boy," she said, and left, still shaking her head.
"(ell4" said Bonnie, staring after her,
amazed. "!eryone else just looked at each other
blankly.
" ''uch a $retty girl'*but which." said %ere5
dith at last. "'ue or "lena." "lena had actually
s$ent a week or so in this !ery barn last winter*
but %rs. 1lowers wasn't su$$osed to know that.
"6id you say something to her about us."
%eredith asked 6amon.
"ot a word." 6amon seemed amused. "'he's
an old lady. 'he's batty."
"'he's shar$er than any of us ga!e her credit
for," %att said. "(hen & think of the days we
s$ent watching her $otter around that basement
*do you think she knew we were watching."
"& don't know what to think," 'tefan said
slowly. "&'m just glad she seems to be on our
side. #nd she's gi!en us a safe $lace to stay."
"#nd gra$e juice, don't forget that." %att
grinned at 'tefan. "(ant some." 8e $roffered
the leaky cu$.
"/eah, you can take your gra$e juice and9"
But 'tefan was almost smiling himself. 1or an
instant Bonnie saw the two of them the way they
used to be, before "lena had died. 1riendly,
warm, as comfortable together as she and
%eredith were. # $ang went through her.
But "lena isn't dead, she thought. 'he's more
here than e!er. 'he's directing e!erything we say
and do.
'tefan had sobered again. "(hen %rs.
1lowers came in, & was about to say that we'd
better get started. #nd & think we should start
with 0ickie."
"'he won't see us," %eredith re$lied instantly.
"8er $arents are kee$ing e!eryone away."
"Then we'll just ha!e to by$ass her $arents,"
'tefan said. "#re you coming with us, 6amon."
"# !isit to yet another $retty girl. & wouldn't
miss it."
Bonnie turned to 'tefan in alarm, but he
s$oke reassuringly as he guided her out of the
barn. "&t'll be all right. &'ll kee$ an eye on him."
Bonnie ho$ed so.
Six
0ickie's house was on a corner, and they
a$$roached it from the side street. By now the
sky was filled with hea!y $ur$le clouds. The
light had an almost underwater quality.
",ooks like it's going to storm," %att said.
Bonnie glanced at 6amon. either he nor
'tefan liked bright light. #nd she could feel the
<ower emanating from him, like a low thrum
just under the surface of his skin. 8e smiled
without looking at her and said, "8ow about
snow in =une."
Bonnie clam$ed down on a shi!er.
'he had looked 6amon's way once or twice in
the barn and found him listening to the story
with an air of detached indifference. Anlike
'tefan, his e-$ression hadn't changed in the
slightest when she mentioned "lena*or when
she told about 'ue's death. (hat did he really
feel for "lena. 8e'd called u$ a snowstorm once
and left her to freeze in it. (hat was he feeling
now. 6id he e!en care about catching the
murderer.
"That's 0ickie's bedroom," said %eredith.
"The bay window in the back."
'tefan looked at 6amon. "8ow many $eo$le
in the house."
"Two. %an and woman. The woman's drunk."
<oor %rs. Bennett, thought Bonnie.
"& need them both aslee$," 'tefan said.
&n s$ite of herself, Bonnie was fascinated by
the surge of <ower she felt from 6amon. 8er
$sychic abilities had ne!er been strong enough
to sense its raw essence before, but now they
were. ow she could feel it as clearly as she
could see the fading !iolet light or smell the
honeysuckle outside 0ickie's window.
6amon shrugged. "They're aslee$."
'tefan ta$$ed lightly on the glass.
There was no res$onse, or at least none
Bonnie could see. But 'tefan and 6amon looked
at each other.
"'he's half tranced already," 6amon said.
"'he's scared. &'ll do it) she knows me," said
'tefan. 8e $ut his fingerti$s on the window.
"0ickie, it's 'tefan 'al!atore," he said. "&'m here
to hel$ you. Come let me in."
8is !oice was quiet, nothing that should ha!e
been heard on the other side of the glass. But
after a moment the curtains stirred and a face
a$$eared.
Bonnie gas$ed aloud.
0ickie's long, light brown hair was
dishe!eled, and her skin was chalky. There were
huge black rings under her eyes. The eyes
themsel!es were fi-ed and glassy. 8er li$s were
rough and cha$$ed.
"'he looks like she's dressed u$ to do
+$helia's mad scene," %eredith said under her
breath. "ightgown and all."
"'he looks #ossessed," Bonnie whis$ered
back, unner!ed.
'tefan just said, "0ickie, o$en the window."
%echanically, like a windu$ doll, 0ickie
cranked one of the side $anels of the bay
window o$en, and 'tefan said, "Can & come in."
0ickie's glazed eyes swe$t o!er the grou$
outside. 1or a moment Bonnie thought she didn't
recognize any of them. But then she blinked and
said slowly, "%eredith9 Bonnie9 'tefan.
/ou're back. (hat are you doing here."
"#sk me in, 0ickie." 'tefan's !oice was
hy$notic.
"'tefan9" There was a long $ause and then2
"Come in."
'he ste$$ed back as he $ut a hand on the sill
and !aulted through. %att followed him, then
%eredith. Bonnie, who was wearing a mini,
re5mained outside with 6amon. 'he wished
she'd worn jeans to school today, but then she
hadn't known she'd be going on an e-$edition.
"/ou shouldn't be here," 0ickie said to 'tefan,
almost calmly. "8e's coming to get me. 8e'll get
you too."
%eredith $ut an arm around her. 'tefan just
said, "(ho."
"8im. 8e comes to me in my dreams. 8e
killed 'ue." 0ickie's matter5of5fact tone was
more frightening than any hysteria could ha!e
been.
"0ickie, we'!e come to hel$ you," %eredith
said gently. ""!erything's going to be all right
now. (e won't let him hurt you, & $romise."
0ickie swung around to stare at her. 'he
looked %eredith u$ and down as if %eredith had
suddenly changed into something unbelie!able.
Then she began to laugh.
&t was awful, a hoarse burst of mirth like a
hacking cough. &t went on and on until Bonnie
wanted to co!er her ears. 1inally 'tefan said,
"0ickie, sto$ it."
The laughter died into something like sobs,
and when 0ickie lifted her head again, she
looked less glassy eyed but more genuinely
u$set. "/ou're all going to die, 'tefan," she said,
shaking her head. "o one can fight him and
li!e."
"(e need to know about him so we can fight
him. (e need your hel$," 'tefan said. "Tell me
what he looks like."
"& can't see him in my dreams. 8e's just a
shadow without a face." 0ickie whis$ered it, her
shoulders hunching.
"But you saw him at Caroline's house," 'tefan
said insistently. "0ickie, listen to me," he added
as the girl turned away shar$ly. "& know you're
frightened, but this is im$ortant, more im$ortant
than you can understand. (e can't fight him
unless we know what we're u$ against, and you
are the only one, the only one right now who has
the information we need. /ou ha!e to hel$ us."
"& can't remember*"
'tefan's !oice was unyielding. "& ha!e a way
to hel$ you remember," he said. "(ill you let me
try."
'econds crawled by, then 0ickie ga!e a long,
bubbling sigh, her body sagging. "6o whate!er
you want," she said indifferently. "& don't care. &t
won't make any difference."
"/ou're a bra!e girl. ow look at me, 0ickie.
& want you to rela-. =ust look at me and rela-."
'tefan's !oice dro$$ed to a lulling murmur. &t
went on for a few minutes, and then 0ickie's
eyes droo$ed shut.
"'it down." 'tefan guided her to sit on the
bed. 8e sat beside her, looking into her face.
"0ickie, you feel calm and rela-ed now.
othing you remember will hurt you," he said,
his !oice soothing. "ow, & need you to go back
to 'aturday night. /ou're u$stairs, in the master
bedroom of Caroline's house. 'ue Carson is with
you, and someone else. & need you to see*"
"o4" 0ickie twisted back and forth as if
trying to esca$e something. "o4 & can't*"
"0ickie, calm down. 8e won't hurt you. 8e
can't see you, but you can see him. ,isten to
me."
#s 'tefan s$oke, 0ickie's whim$ers quieted.
But she still thrashed and writhed.
"/ou need to see him, 0ickie. 8el$ us fight
him. (hat does he look like."
"8e looks like the de!il4"
&t was almost a scream. %eredith sat on
0ickie's other side and took her hand. 'he
looked out through the window at Bonnie, who
looked back wide eyed and shrugged slightly.
Bonnie had no idea what 0ickie was talking
about.
"Tell me more," 'tefan said e!enly.
0ickie's mouth twisted. 8er nostrils were
flared as if she were smelling something awful.
(hen she s$oke, she got out each word
se$arately, as if they were making her sick.
"8e wears9 an old raincoat. &t fla$s around
his legs in the wind. 8e makes the wind blow.
8is hair is blond. #lmost white. &t stands u$ all
o!er his head. 8is eyes are so blue*electric
blue." 0ickie licked her li$s and swallowed,
looking nauseated. "Blue is the color of death."
Thunder rumbled and cracked in the sky.
6amon glanced u$ quickly, then frowned, eyes
narrowed.
"8e's tall. #nd he's laughing. 8e's reaching
for me, laughing. But 'ue screams 'o, no' and
tries to $ull me away. 'o he takes her instead.
The window's broken, and the balcony is right
there. 'ue's crying 'o, $lease.' #nd then & watch
him*& watch him throw her9" 0ickie's breath
was hitching, her !oice rising hysterically.
"0ickie, it's all right. /ou're not really there.
/ou're safe."
"+h, $lease, no*'ue4 "ue* "ue4"
"0ickie, stay with me. ,isten. & need just one
more thing. ,ook at him. Tell me if he's wearing
a blue jewel*"
But 0ickie was whi$$ing her head back and
forth, sobbing, more hysterical each second.
"o4 o4 &'m ne-t4 &'m ne-t4" 'uddenly, her eyes
s$rang o$en as she came out of the trance by
herself, choking and gas$ing. Then her head
jerked around.
+n the wall, a $icture was rattling.
&t was $icked u$ by the bamboo5framed
mirror, then by $erfume bottles and li$sticks on
the dresser below. (ith a sound like $o$corn,
earrings began bursting from an earring tree. The
rattling got louder and louder. # straw hat fell off
a hook. <hotos were showering down from the
mirror. Ta$es and C6s s$rayed out of a rack and
onto the floor like $laying cards being dealt.
%eredith was on her feet and so was %att,
fists clenched.
"%ake it sto$4 %ake it sto$4" 0ickie cried
wildly.
But it didn't sto$. %att and %eredith looked
around as new objects joined the dance.
"!erything mo!able was shaking, jittering,
swaying. &t was as if the room were caught in an
earthquake.
"'to$4 'to$4" shrieked 0ickie, her hands o!er
her ears.
6irectly abo!e the house thunder e-$loded.
Bonnie jum$ed !iolently as she saw the
zigzag of lightning shoot across the sky.
&nstincti!ely she grabbed for something to hang
on to. #s the lightning bolt flared a $oster on
0ickie's wall tore diagonally as if slashed by a
$hantom knife. Bonnie choked back a scream
and clutched tighter.
Then, as quickly as if someone had flicked a
$ower switch off, all the noise sto$$ed.
0ickie's room was still. The fringe on the
bedside lam$ swayed slightly. The $oster had
curled u$ in two irregular $ieces, to$ and
bottom. 'lowly, 0ickie lowered her hands from
her ears.
%att and %eredith looked around rather
shakily.
Bonnie shut her eyes and murmured
something like a $rayer. &t wasn't until she
o$ened them again that she realized what she
had been hanging on to. &t was the su$$le
coolness of a leather jacket. &t was 6amon's arm.
8e hadn't mo!ed away from her, though. 8e
didn't mo!e now. 8e was leaning forward
slightly, eyes narrowed, watching the room
intently.
",ook at the mirror," he said.
"!eryone did, and Bonnie drew in her breath,
fingers clenching again. 'he hadn't seen it, but it
must ha!e ha$$ened while e!erything in the
room was going berserk.
+n the glass surface of the bamboo mirror
two words were scrawled in 0ickie's hot coral
li$stick.
)oodnight, "weetheart.
"+h, 3od," Bonnie whis$ered.
'tefan turned from the mirror to 0ickie. There
was something different about him, Bonnie
thought*he was holding himself rela-ed but
$oised, like a soldier who's just gotten
confirmation of a battle. &t was as if he'd
acce$ted a $ersonal challenge of some kind.
8e took something out of his back $ocket and
unfolded it, re!ealing s$rigs of a $lant with long
green lea!es and tiny lilac flowers.
"This is !er!ain, fresh !er!ain," he said
quietly, his !oice e!en and intense. "& $icked it
outside 1lorence) it's blooming there now." 8e
took 0ickie's hand and $ressed the $acket into it.
"& want you to hold on to this and kee$ it. <ut
some in e!ery room of the house, and hide
$ieces somewhere in your $arents' clothes if you
can, so they'll ha!e it near them. #s long as you
ha!e this with you, he can't take o!er your mind.
8e can scare you, 0ickie, but he can't make you
do anything, like o$en a window or door for
him. #nd listen, 0ickie, because this is
im$ortant."
0ickie was shi!ering, her face crum$led.
'tefan took both her hands and made her look at
him, s$eaking slowly and distinctly.
"&f &'m right, 0ickie, he can't get in unless you
let him. 'o talk to your $arents. Tell them it's
im$ortant that they don't ask any stranger inside
the house. &n fact, & can ha!e 6amon $ut that
suggestion in their mind right now." 8e glanced
at 6amon, who shrugged slightly and nodded,
looking as if his attention was somewhere else.
'elf5consciously, Bonnie remo!ed her hand from
his jacket.
0ickie's head was bent o!er the !er!ain.
"8e'll get in somehow," she said softly, with
terrible certainty.
"o. 0ickie, listen to me. 1rom now on, we're
going to watch your house) we're going to be
waiting for him."
"&t doesn't matter," 0ickie said. "/ou can't
sto$ him." 'he began to laugh and cry at the
same time.
"(e're going to try," 'tefan said. 8e looked at
%eredith and %att, who nodded. "7ight. 1rom
this moment on, you will ne!er be alone. There
will always be one or more of us outside
watching you."
0ickie just shook her bent head. %eredith
ga!e her arm a squeeze and stood as 'tefan tilted
his head toward the window.
(hen she and %att joined him there, 'tefan
s$oke to all of them in a low !oice. "& don't want
to lea!e her unguarded, but & can't stay myself
right now. There's something & ha!e to do, and &
need one of the girls with me. +n the other hand,
& don't want to lea!e either Bonnie or %eredith
alone here." 8e turned to %att. "%att, will
you9"
"&'ll stay," said 6amon.
"!eryone looked at him, startled.
"(ell, it's the logical solution, isn't it."
6amon seemed amused. "#fter all, what do you
e-$ect one of them to do against him anyway."
"They can call for me. & can monitor their
thoughts that far," 'tefan said, not gi!ing one
inch.
"(ell," 6amon said whimsically, "& can call
for you too, little brother, if & get into trouble.
&'m getting bored with this in!estigation of yours
anyway. & might as well stay here as anywhere."
"0ickie needs to be $rotected, not abused,"
'tefan said.
6amon's smile was charming. ".er." 8e
nodded toward the girl who sat on the bed,
rocking o!er the !er!ain. 1rom dishe!eled hair
to bare feet, 0ickie was not a $retty $icture.
"Take my word for it, brother, & can do better
than that." 1or just an instant Bonnie thought
those dark eyes flicked sideways toward her.
"/ou're always saying how you'd like to trust
me, anyway," 6amon added. "8ere's your
chance to $ro!e it."
'tefan looked as if he wanted to trust, as if he
were tem$ted. 8e also looked sus$icious.
6amon said nothing, merely smiled in that
taunting, enigmatic way. <ractically asking to be
mistrusted, Bonnie thought.
The two brothers stood looking at each other
while the silence and the tension stretched out
between them. =ust then Bonnie could see the
family resemblance in their faces, one serious
and intense, the other bland and faintly mocking,
but both inhumanly beautiful.
'tefan let his breath out slowly. "#ll right," he
said quietly at last. Bonnie and %att and
%eredith were all staring at him, but he didn't
seem to notice. 8e s$oke to 6amon as if they
were the only two $eo$le there. "/ou stay here,
outside the house where you won't be seen. &'ll
come back and take o!er when &'m finished with
what &'m doing."
%eredith's eyebrows were in her hair, but she
made no comment. either did %att. Bonnie
tried to quell her own feelings of unease. 'tefan
must know what he's doing, she told herself.
#nyway, he'd better.
"6on't take too long," 6amon said
dismissi!ely.
#nd that was how they left it, with 6amon
blending in with the darkness in the shadow of
the black walnut trees in 0ickie's backyard and
0ickie herself in her room, rocking endlessly.
&n the car, %eredith said, "(here ne-t."
"& need to test a theory," said 'tefan briefly.
"That the killer is a !am$ire." %att said from
the back, where he sat with Bonnie.
'tefan glanced at him shar$ly. "/es."
"That's why you told 0ickie not to in!ite
anyone in," %eredith added, not to be outdone in
the reasoning de$artment. 0am$ires, Bonnie
remembered, couldn't enter a $lace where
humans li!ed and sle$t unless they were in!ited.
"#nd that's why you asked if the man was
wearing a blue stone."
"#n amulet against daylight," 'tefan said,
s$reading his right hand. +n the third finger
there was a sil!er ring set with la$is lazuli.
"(ithout one of these, direct e-$osure to the sun
kills us. &f the murderer is a !am$ire, he kee$s a
stone like this somewhere on him." #s if by
instinct, 'tefan reached u$ to briefly touch
something under his T5shirt. #fter a moment
Bonnie realized what it must be.
"lena's ring. 'tefan had gi!en it to her in the
first $lace, and after she died he'd taken it to
wear on a chain around his neck. 'o that $art of
her would be with him always, he'd said.
(hen Bonnie looked at %att beside her, she
saw his eyes were closed.
"'o how can we tell if he's a !am$ire."
%eredith asked.
"There's only one way & can think of, and it
isn't !ery $leasant. But it's got to be done."
Bonnie's heart sank. &f 'tefan thought it
wasn't !ery $leasant, she was sure she was going
to find it e!en less so. "(hat is it." she said
unenthusiastically.
"& need to get a look at 'ue's body."
There was dead silence. "!en %eredith,
normally so unfla$$able, looked a$$alled. %att
turned away, leaning his forehead against the
window glass.
"/ou'!e got to be kidding," Bonnie said.
"& wish & were."
"But*for 3od's sake, 'tefan. (e can't. They
won't let us. & mean, what are we going to say.
'"-cuse me while & e-amine this cor$se for
holes'."
"Bonnie, sto$ it," %eredith said.
"& can't hel$ it," Bonnie sna$$ed back shakily.
"&t's an aw!ul idea. #nd besides, the $olice
already checked her body. There wasn't a mark
on it e-ce$t the cuts she got in the fall."
"The $olice don't know what to look for,"
'tefan said. 8is !oice was steely. 8earing it
brought something home to Bonnie, something
she tended to forget. 'tefan was one of them.
+ne of the hunters. 8e'd seen dead $eo$le
before. 8e might e!en ha!e killed some.
8e drinks blood, she thought, and shuddered.
"(ell." said 'tefan. "#re you still with me."
Bonnie tried to make herself small in the
backseat. %eredith's hands were tight on the
steering wheel. &t was %att who s$oke, turning
back from the window.
"(e don't ha!e a choice, do we." he said
tiredly.
"There's a !iewing of the body from se!en to
ten at the funeral home," %eredith added, her
!oice low.
"(e'll ha!e to wait until after the !iewing,
then. #fter they close the funeral home, when we
can be alone with her," said 'tefan.

"This is the most gruesome thing &'!e e!er had
to do," Bonnie whis$ered wretchedly. The
funeral cha$el was dark and cold. 'tefan had
s$rung the locks on the outside door with a thin
$iece of fle-ible metal.
The !iewing room was thickly car$eted, its
walls co!ered with somber oak $anels. &t would
ha!e been a de$ressing $lace e!en with the
lights on. &n the dark it seemed close and
suffocating and crowded with grotesque sha$es.
&t looked as if someone might be crouching
behind each of the many standing flower
arrangements.
"& don't want to be here," Bonnie moaned.
",et's just get it o!er with, okay." %att said
through his teeth.
(hen he sna$$ed the flashlight on, Bonnie
looked anywhere but where it was $ointing. 'he
didn't want to see the coffin, she didn't. 'he
stared at the flowers, at a heart made of $ink
roses. +utside, thunder grumbled like a slee$ing
animal.
",et me get this o$en*here," 'tefan was
saying. &n s$ite of her resol!e not to, Bonnie
looked.
The casket was white, lined with $ale $ink
satin. 'ue's blond hair shone against it like the
hair of a slee$ing $rincess in a fairy tale. But
'ue didn't look as if she were slee$ing. 'he was
too $ale, too still. ,ike a wa-work.
Bonnie cre$t closer, her eyes fi-ed on 'ue's
face.
That's why it's so cold in here, she told herself
staunchly. To kee$ the wa- from melting. &t
hel$ed a little.
'tefan reached down to touch 'ue's high5
necked $ink blouse. 8e undid the to$ button.
"1or 3od's sake," Bonnie whis$ered,
outraged.
"(hat do you think we're here for." 'tefan
hissed back. But his fingers $aused on the
second button.
Bonnie watched a minute and then made her
decision. "3et out of the way," she said, and
when 'tefan didn't mo!e immediately, she ga!e
him a sho!e. %eredith drew u$ close to her and
they formed a $halan- between 'ue and the
boys. Their eyes met with understanding. &f they
had to actually remo!e the blouse, the guys were
going out.
Bonnie undid the small buttons while
%eredith held the light. 'ue's skin felt as wa-y
as it looked, cool against her fingerti$s.
#wkwardly, she folded the blouse back to re!eal
a lacy white sli$. Then she made herself $ush
'ue's shining gold hair off the $ale neck. The
hair was stiff with s$ray.
"o holes," she said, looking at 'ue's throat.
'he was $roud that her !oice was almost steady.
"o," said 'tefan oddly. "But there's
something else. ,ook at this." 3ently, he reached
around Bonnie to $oint out a cut, $ale and
bloodless as the skin around it, but !isible as a
faint line running from collarbone to breast.
+!er the heart. 'tefan's long finger traced the air
abo!e it and Bonnie stiffened, ready to smack
the hand away if he touched.
"(hat is it." asked %eredith, $uzzled.
"# mystery," 'tefan said. 8is !oice was still
odd. "&f & saw a mark like that on a !am$ire, it
would mean the !am$ire was gi!ing blood to a
human. That's how it's done. 8uman teeth can't
$ierce our skin, so we cut oursel!es if we want
to share blood. But 'ue wasn't a !am$ire."
"'he certainly wasn't4" said Bonnie. 'he tried
to fight off the image her mind wanted to show
her, of "lena bending to a cut like that on
'tefan's chest and sucking, drinking9
'he shuddered and realized her eyes were
shut. "&s there anything else you need to see."
she said, o$ening them.
"o. That's all."
Bonnie did u$ the buttons. 'he rearranged
'ue's hair. Then, while %eredith and 'tefan
eased the lid of the casket back down, she
walked quickly out of the !iewing room and to
the outside door. 'he stood there, arms wra$$ed
around herself.
# hand touched her elbow lightly. &t was
%att.
"/ou're tougher than you look," he said.
"/es, well9" 'he tried to shrug. #nd then
suddenly she was crying, crying hard. %att $ut
his arms around her.
"& know," he said. =ust that. ot "6on't cry" or
"Take it easy" or ""!erything's going to be all
right." =ust "& know." 8is !oice was as desolate
as she felt.
"They'!e got hair s$ray in her hair," she
sobbed. "'ue never used hair s$ray. &t's awful."
'omehow, just then, this seemed the worst thing
of all.
8e sim$ly held her.
#fter a while Bonnie got her breath. 'he
found she was holding on to %att almost
$ainfully tightly and loosened her arms. "& got
your shirt all wet," she said a$ologetically,
sniffling.
"&t doesn't matter."
'omething in his !oice made her ste$ back
and look at him. 8e looked the way he had in the
high school $arking lot. 'o lost, so9 ho$eless.
"%att, what is it." she whis$ered. "<lease."
"& told you already," he said. 8e was looking
away into some immeasurable distance. "'ue's
lying in there dead, and she shouldn't be. /ou
said it yourself, Bonnie. (hat kind of world is it
that lets a thing like that ha$$en. That lets a girl
like 'ue get murdered for kicks, or kids in
#fghanistan star!e, or baby seals get skinned
ali!e. &f that's what the world is like, what does
anything matter. &t's all o!er anyway." 8e
$aused and seemed to come back to himself.
"6o you understand what &'m talking about."
"&'m not so sure." Bonnie didn't e!en think she
wanted to. &t was too scary. But she was
o!erwhelmed by an urge to comfort him, to wi$e
that lost look from his eyes. "%att, &*"
"(e're finished," 'tefan said from behind
them.
#s %att looked toward the !oice the lost look
seemed to intensify. "'ometimes & think we're
all finished," %att said, mo!ing away from
Bonnie, but he didn't e-$lain what he meant by
that. ",et's go."
Seven
'tefan a$$roached the corner house
reluctantly, almost afraid of what he might find.
8e half e-$ected that 6amon would ha!e
abandoned his $ost by now. 8e'd $robably been
an idiot to rely on 6amon in the first $lace.
But when he reached the backyard, there was
a shimmer of motion among the black walnut
trees. 8is eyes, shar$er than a human's because
they were ada$ted for hunting, made out the
darker shadow leaning against a trunk.
"/ou took your time getting back."
"& had to see the others home safe. #nd & had
to eat."
"#nimal blood," 6amon said contem$tuously,
eyes fi-ed on a tiny round stain on 'tefan's T5
shirt. "7abbit, from the smell of it. That seems
a$$ro$riate somehow, doesn't it."
"6amon*&'!e gi!en Bonnie and %eredith
!er!ain too."
"# wise $recaution," 6amon said distinctly,
and showed his teeth.
# familiar surge of irritation welled u$ in
'tefan. (hy did 6amon always ha!e to be so
difficult. Talking with him was like walking
between land mines.
"&'ll be going now," 6amon continued,
swinging his jacket o!er one shoulder. "&'!e got
business of my own to take care of." 8e tossed a
de!astating grin o!er his shoulder. "6on't wait
u$."
"6amon." 6amon half turned, not looking but
listening. "The last thing we need is some girl in
this town screaming '0am$ire4' " 'tefan said.
"+r showing the signs, either. These $eo$le ha!e
been through it before) they're not ignorant."
"&'ll bear that in mind." &t was said ironically,
but it was the closest thing to a $romise 'tefan
had e!er gotten from his brother in his life.
"#nd, 6amon."
"ow what."
"Thank you."
&t was too much. 6amon whi$$ed around, his
eyes cold and unin!iting, a stranger's eyes.
"6on't e-$ect anything of me, little brother,"
he said dangerously. "Because you'll be wrong
e!ery time. #nd don't think you can mani$ulate
me, either. Those three humans may follow you,
but & won't. &'m here for reasons of my own."
8e was gone before 'tefan could gather
words for a re$ly. &t wouldn't ha!e mattered
anyway. 6amon ne!er listened to anything he
said. 6amon ne!er e!en called him by name. &t
was always the scornful "little brother."
#nd now 6amon was off to $ro!e how
unreliable he was, 'tefan thought. (onderful.
8e'd do something $articularly !icious just to
show 'tefan he was ca$able of it.
(earily, 'tefan found a tree to lean against
and slid down it to look at the night sky. 8e tried
to think about the $roblem at hand, about what
he'd learned tonight. The descri$tion 0ickie had
gi!en of the killer. Tall, blond hair and blue eyes,
he thought*that seemed to remind him of
someone. ot someone he'd met, but someone
he'd heard about9
&t was no use. 8e couldn't kee$ his mind on
the $uzzle. 8e was tired and lonely and in
des$erate need of comfort. #nd the stark truth
was that there was no comfort to be had.
"lena, he thought, you lied to me.
&t was the one thing she'd insisted on, the one
thing she'd always $romised. "(hate!er
ha$$ens, 'tefan, &'ll be with you. Tell me you
belie!e that." #nd he had answered, hel$less in
her s$ell, "+h, "lena, & belie!e it. (hate!er
ha$$ens, we'll be together."
But she had left him. ot by choice maybe,
but what did that matter in the end. 'he had left
him and gone away.
There were times when all he wanted was to
follow her.
Think about something else, anything else, he
told himself, but it was too late. +nce unleashed,
the images of "lena swirled around him, too
$ainful to bear, too beautiful to $ush away.
The first time he'd kissed her. The shock of
dizzy sweetness when his mouth met hers. #nd
after that, shock after shock, but at some dee$er
le!el. #s if she were reaching down to the core
of himself, a core he'd almost forgotten.
1rightened, he'd felt his defenses tear away.
#ll his secrets, all his resistance, all the tricks he
used to kee$ other $eo$le at arm's length. "lena
had ri$$ed through them all, e-$osing his
!ulnerability.
"-$osing his soul.
#nd in the end, he found that it was what he
wanted. 8e wanted "lena to see him without
defenses, without walls. 8e wanted her to know
him for what he was.
Terrifying. /es. (hen she'd disco!ered his
secret at last, when she'd found him feeding on
that bird, he had cringed in shame. 8e was sure
that she'd turn away from the blood on his mouth
in horror. &n disgust.
But when he looked into her eyes that night,
he saw understanding. 1orgi!eness. ,o!e.
8er lo!e had healed him.
#nd that was when he knew they could ne!er
be a$art.
+ther memories surged u$ and 'tefan held on
to them, e!en though the $ain tore into him like
claws. 'ensations. The feel of "lena against him,
su$$le in his arms. The brush of her hair on his
cheek, light as a moth's wing. The cur!e of her
li$s, the taste of them. The im$ossible midnight
blue of her eyes.
#ll lost. #ll beyond his reach fore!er.
But Bonnie had reached "lena. "lena's s$irit,
her soul, was still somewhere near.
+f anyone, he should be able to summon it.
8e had <ower at his command. #nd he had more
right than anyone to seek her.
8e knew how it was done. 'hut your eyes.
<icture the $erson you want to draw near. That
was easy. 8e could see "lena, feel her, smell her.
Then call them, let your longing reach out into
the em$tiness. +$en yourself and let your need
be felt.
"asier still. 8e didn't gi!e a damn about the
danger. 8e gathered all his yearning, all his $ain,
and sent it out searching like a $rayer.
#nd felt9 nothing.
+nly !oid and his own loneliness. +nly
silence.
8is <ower wasn't the same as Bonnie's. 8e
couldn't reach the one thing he lo!ed most, the
one thing that mattered to him.
8e had ne!er felt so alone in his life.

"/ou want what." Bonnie said.
"'ome sort of records about the history of
1ell's Church. <articularly about the founders,"
'tefan said. They were all sitting in %eredith's
car, which was $arked a discreet distance behind
0ickie's house. &t was dusk of the ne-t day and
they had just returned from 'ue's funeral*all
but 'tefan.
"This has something to do with 'ue, doesn't
it." %eredith's dark eyes, always so le!el and
intelligent, $robed 'tefan's. "/ou think you'!e
sol!ed the mystery."
"<ossibly," he admitted. 8e had s$ent the day
thinking. 8e'd $ut the $ain of last night behind
him, and once again he was in control. #lthough
he could not reach "lena, he could justify her
faith in him*he could do what she wanted
done. #nd there was a comfort in work, in
concentration. &n kee$ing all emotion away. 8e
added, "& ha!e an idea about what might ha!e
ha$$ened, but it's a long shot and & don't want to
talk about it until &'m sure."
"(hy." demanded Bonnie. 'uch a contrast to
%eredith, 'tefan thought. 8air as red as fire and
a s$irit to go with it. That delicate heart5sha$ed
face and fair, translucent skin were dece$ti!e,
though. Bonnie was smart and resourceful*
e!en if she was only beginning to find that out
herself.
"Because if &'m wrong, an innocent $erson
might get hurt. ,ook, at this $oint it's just an
idea. But & $romise if & find any e!idence tonight
to back it u$, &'ll tell you all about it."
"/ou could talk with %rs. 3rimesby,"
%eredith suggested. "'he's the town librarian,
and she knows a lot about the founding of 1ell's
Church."
"+r there's always 8onoria," Bonnie said. "&
mean, she was one of the founders."
'tefan looked at her quickly. "& thought
8onoria 1ell had sto$$ed communicating with
you," he said carefully.
"& don't mean talk to her. 'he's gone, #!!t,
ka$ut," Bonnie said disgustedly. "& mean her
journal. &t's right there in the library with
"lena's) %rs. 3rimesby has them on dis$lay near
the circulation desk."
'tefan was sur$rised. 8e didn't entirely like
the idea of "lena's journal on dis$lay. But
8onoria's records might be e-actly what he was
looking for. 8onoria had not just been a wise
woman) she had been well !ersed in the
su$ernatural. # witch.
"The library's closed by now, though,"
%eredith said.
"That's e!en better," said 'tefan. "o one will
know what information we're interested in. Two
of us can go down there and break in, and the
other two can stay here. %eredith, if you'll come
with me*"
"&'d like to stay here, if you don't mind," she
said. "&'m tired," she added in e-$lanation,
seeing his e-$ression. "#nd this way & can get
my watch o!er with and get home earlier. (hy
don't you and %att go and Bonnie and & stay
here."
'tefan was still looking at her. "+kay," he said
slowly. "1ine. &f it's all right with %att." %att
shrugged. "That's it, then. &t might take us a
cou$le of hours or more. /ou two stay in the car
with the doors locked. /ou should be safe
enough that way." &f he was right in his
sus$icions, there wouldn't be any more attacks
for a while*a few days at least. Bonnie and
%eredith should be safe. But he couldn't hel$
wonder what was behind %eredith's suggestion.
ot sim$le tiredness, he was sure.
"By the way, where's 6amon." Bonnie asked
as he and %att started to lea!e.
'tefan felt his stomach muscles tighten. "&
don't know." 8e had been waiting for someone
to ask that. 8e hadn't seen his brother since last
night, and he had no idea what 6amon might be
doing.
"8e'll show u$ e!entually," he said, and
closed the door on %eredith's, "That's what &'m
afraid of."
8e and %att walked to the library in silence,
kee$ing to the shadows, skirting areas of light.
8e couldn't afford to be seen. 'tefan had come
back to hel$ 1ell's Church, but he felt sure 1ell's
Church didn't want his hel$. 8e was a stranger
again, an intruder here. They would hurt him if
they caught him.
The library lock was easy to $ick, just a
sim$le s$ring mechanism. #nd the journals were
right where Bonnie had said they would be.
'tefan forced his hand away from "lena's
journal. &nside was the record of "lena's last
days, in her own handwriting. &f he started
thinking about that now9
8e concentrated on the leather5bound book
beside it. The faded ink on the yellowing $ages
was hard to read, but after a few minutes his
eyes got accustomed to the dense, intricate
writing with its elaborate curlicues.
&t was the story of 8onoria 1ell and her
husband, who with the 'mallwoods and a few
other families had come to this $lace when it
was still !irgin wilderness. They had faced not
only the dangers of isolation and hunger but of
nati!e wildlife. 8onoria told the story of their
battle to sur!i!e sim$ly and clearly, without
sentimentality.
#nd in those $ages 'tefan found what he was
looking for.
(ith a $rickling at the back of his neck, he
reread the entry carefully. #t last he leaned back
and shut his eyes.
8e'd been right. There was no longer any
doubt in his mind. #nd that meant he must also
be right about what was going on in 1ell's
Church now. 1or an instant, bright sickness
washed o!er him, and an anger that made him
want to ri$ and tear and hurt something. 'ue.
<retty 'ue who had been "lena's friend had died
for9 that. # blood ritual, an obscene initiation.
&t made him want to kill.
But then the rage faded, re$laced by a fierce
determination to sto$ what was ha$$ening and
set things right.
& $romise you, he whis$ered to "lena in his
own mind. & will sto$ it somehow. o matter
what.
8e looked u$ to find %att looking at him.
"lena's journal was in %att's hand, closing
itself o!er his thumb. =ust then %att's eyes
looked as dark a blue as "lena's. Too dark, full
of turmoil and grief and something like
bitterness.
"/ou found it," %att said. "#nd it's bad."
"/es."
"&t would be." %att $ushed "lena's journal
back into the case and stood. There was a ring
almost of satisfaction in his !oice. ,ike
somebody who's just $ro!ed a $oint.
"& could ha!e sa!ed you the trouble of coming
here." %att sur!eyed the darkened library,
jingling change in his $ocket. # casual obser!er
might ha!e thought he was rela-ed, but his !oice
betrayed him. &t was raw with strain. "/ou just
think of the worst thing you can imagine and
that's always the truth," he said.
"%att9" 'udden concern stabbed at 'tefan.
8e'd been too $reoccu$ied since coming back to
1ell's Church to look at %att $ro$erly. ow he
realized that he'd been unforgi!ably stu$id.
'omething was terribly wrong. %att's whole
body was rigid with tension lying just under the
surface. #nd 'tefan could sense the anguish, the
des$eration in his mind.
"%att, what is it." he said quietly. 8e got u$
and crossed to the other boy. "&s it something &
did."
"&'m fine."
"/ou're shaking." &t was true. 1ine tremors
were running through the taut muscles.
"& said &'m fine4" %att swung away from him,
shoulders hunched defensi!ely. "#nyway, what
could you ha!e done to u$set me. Besides taking
my girl and getting her killed, & mean."
This stab was different, it was somewhere
around 'tefan's heart and it went straight
through. ,ike the blade that had killed him once
u$on a time. 8e tried to breathe around it, not
trusting himself to s$eak.
"&'m sorry." %att's !oice was leaden, and
when 'tefan looked, he saw that the tense
shoulders had slum$ed. "That was a lousy thing
to say."
"&t was the truth." 'tefan waited a moment
and then added, le!elly, "But it's not the whole
$roblem, is it."
%att didn't answer. 8e stared at the floor,
$ushing something in!isible with the side of one
shoe. =ust when 'tefan was about to gi!e u$, he
turned with a question of his own.
"(hat's the world really like."
"(hat's9 what."
"The world. /ou'!e seen a lot of it, 'tefan.
/ou'!e got four or fi!e centuries on the rest of
us, right. 'o what's the deal. & mean, is it
basically the kind of $lace worth sa!ing or is it
essentially a $ile of cra$."
'tefan shut his eyes. "+h."
"#nd what about $eo$le, huh, 'tefan. The
human race. #re we the disease or just a
sym$tom. & mean, you take somebody like*
like "lena." %att's !oice shook briefly, but he
went on. ""lena died to kee$ the town safe for
girls like 'ue. #nd now 'ue's dead. #nd it's all
ha$$ening again. &t's ne!er o!er. (e can't win.
'o what does that tell you."
"%att."
"(hat &'m really asking is, what's the $oint.
&s there some cosmic joke &'m not getting. +r is
the whole thing just one big freaking mistake.
6o you understand what &'m trying to say here."
"& understand, %att." 'tefan sat down and ran
his hands through his hair. "&f you'll shut u$ a
minute, &'ll try to answer you."
%att drew u$ a chair and straddled it. "3reat.
Take your best shot." 8is eyes were hard and
challenging, but underneath 'tefan saw the
bewildered hurt that had been festering there.
"&'!e seen a lot of e!il, %att, more than you
can imagine," 'tefan said. "&'!e e!en li!ed it. &t's
always going to be a $art of me, no matter how &
fight it. 'ometimes & think the whole human race
is e!il, much less my kind. #nd sometimes &
think that enough of both our races is e!il that it
doesn't matter what ha$$ens to the rest.
"(hen you get down to it, though, & don't
know any more than you do. & can't tell you if
there's a $oint or if things are e!er going to turn
out all right." 'tefan looked straight into %att's
eyes and s$oke deliberately. "But &'!e got
another question for you. 'o what."
%att stared. "'o what."
"/eah. 'o what."
"'o what if the uni!erse is e!il and if nothing
we do to try and change it can really make any
difference." %att's !oice was gaining !olume
with his disbelief.
"/eah, so what." 'tefan leaned forward. "'o
what are you going to do, %att 8oneycutt, if
e!ery bad thing you'!e said is true. (hat are
you going to do $ersonally. #re you going to
sto$ fighting and swim with the sharks."
%att was gras$ing the back of his chair.
"(hat are you talking about."
"/ou can do that, you know. 6amon says so
all the time. /ou can join u$ with the e!il side,
the winning side. #nd nobody can really blame
you, because if the uni!erse is that way, why
shouldn't you be that way too."
",ike hell4" %att e-$loded. 8is blue eyes
were searing and he had half risen from his
chair. "That's 6amon's way, maybe4 But just
because it's ho$eless doesn't mean it's all right to
sto$ fighting. "!en if & knew it was ho$eless, &'d
still ha!e to try. & ha!e to try, damn it4"
"& know." 'tefan settled back and smiled
faintly. &t was a tired smile, but it showed the
kinshi$ he felt right then with %att. #nd in a
moment he saw by %att's face that %att
understood.
"& know because & feel the same way," 'tefan
continued. "There's no e-cuse for gi!ing u$ just
because it looks like we're going to lose. (e
ha!e to try*because the other choice is to
surrender."
"&'m not ready to surrender anything," %att
said through his teeth. 8e looked as if he'd
fought his way back to a fire inside him that had
been burning all along. ""!er," he said.
"/eah, well, 'e!er' is a long time," 'tefan said.
"But for what it's worth, &'m going to try not to
either. & don't know if it's $ossible, but &'m going
to try."
"That's all anybody can do," %att said.
'lowly, he $ushed himself off the chair and
stood straight. The tension was gone from his
muscles, and his eyes were the clear, almost
$iercing blue eyes 'tefan remembered. "+kay,"
he said quietly. "&f you found what you came for,
we'd better get back to the girls."
'tefan thought, his mind switching gears.
"%att, if &'m right about what's going on, the
girls should be okay for a while. But you go
ahead and take o!er the watch from them. #s
long as &'m here there's something &'d like to read
u$ on*by a guy named 3er!ase of Tilbury, who
li!ed in the early CD??s."
""!en before your time, eh." %att said, and
'tefan ga!e him the ghost of a smile. They stood
for a moment, looking at each other.
"#ll right. & guess &'ll see you at 0ickie's."
%att turned to the door, then hesitated. #bru$tly,
he turned again and held out his hand. "'tefan*
&'m glad you came back."
'tefan gri$$ed it. "&'m glad to hear it" was all
he said, but inside he felt a warmth that took
away the stabbing $ain.
#nd some of the loneliness, too.
Eight
1rom where Bonnie and %eredith sat in the
car, they could just see 0ickie's window. &t
would ha!e been better to be closer, but then
someone might ha!e disco!ered them.
%eredith $oured the last of the coffee out of
the thermos and drank it. Then she yawned. 'he
caught herself guiltily and looked at Bonnie.
"/ou ha!ing trouble slee$ing at night too."
"/es. & can't imagine why," %eredith said.
"6o you think the guys are ha!ing a little
talk."
%eredith glanced at her quickly, ob!iously
sur$rised, then smiled. Bonnie realized %eredith
hadn't e-$ected her to catch on. "& ho$e so,"
%eredith said. "&t might do %att some good."
Bonnie nodded and rela-ed back into the seat.
%eredith's car had ne!er seemed so comfortable
before.
(hen she looked at %eredith again, the dark5
haired girl was aslee$.
+h, great. Terrific. Bonnie stared into the
dregs of her coffee mug, making a face. 'he
didn't dare rela- again) if they both fell aslee$, it
could be disastrous. 'he dug her nails into her
$alms and stared at 0ickie's lighted window.
(hen she found the image blurring and
doubling on her, she knew something had to be
done.
1resh air. That would hel$. (ithout bothering
to be too quiet about it, she unlocked the door
and $ulled the handle u$. The door clicked o$en,
but %eredith went on breathing dee$ly.
'he must really be tired, Bonnie thought,
getting out. 'he shut the door more gently,
locking %eredith inside. &t was only then that
she realized she herself didn't ha!e a key.
+h, well, she'd wake %eredith to let her back
in. %eanwhile she'd go check on 0ickie. 0ickie
was $robably still awake.
The sky was brooding and o!ercast, but the
night was warm. Behind 0ickie's house the black
walnut trees stirred !ery faintly. Crickets sang,
but their monotonous chir$ing only seemed like
$art of a larger silence.
The scent of honeysuckle filled Bonnie's
nostrils. 'he ta$$ed on 0ickie's window lightly
with her fingernails, $eering through the crack in
the curtains.
o answer. +n the bed she could make out a
lum$ of blankets with unkem$t brown hair
sticking out the to$. 0ickie was aslee$ too.
#s Bonnie stood there, the silence seemed to
thicken around her. The crickets weren't singing
anymore, and the trees were still. #nd yet it was
as if she was straining to hear something she
knew was there.
&'m not alone, she realized.
one of her ordinary senses told her this. But
her si-th sense, the one that sent chills u$ her
arms and ice down her s$ine, the one that was
newly awakened to the $resence of <ower, was
certain. There was9 something9 near.
'omething9 watching her.
'he turned slowly, afraid to make a sound. &f
she didn't make any noise, maybe whate!er it
was wouldn't get her. %aybe it wouldn't notice
her.
The silence had become deadly, menacing. &t
hummed in her ears with the beat of her own
blood. #nd she couldn't hel$ imagining what
might come screaming out of it at any minute.
'omething with hot, moist hands, she thought,
staring into the darkness of the backyard. Black
on gray, black on black was all she could see.
"!ery sha$e might be anything, and all the
shadows seemed to be mo!ing. 'omething with
hot, sweaty hands and arms strong enough to
crush her*
The sna$ of a twig e-$loded through her like
gunfire.
'he s$un toward it, eyes and ears straining.
But there was only darkness and silence.
1ingers touched the back of her neck.
Bonnie whirled again, almost falling, almost
fainting. 'he was too frightened to scream.
(hen she saw who it was, shock robbed all her
senses and her muscles colla$sed. 'he would
ha!e ended u$ in a hea$ on the ground if he
hadn't caught her and held her straight.
"/ou look frightened," 6amon said softly.
Bonnie shook her head. 'he didn't ha!e any
!oice yet. 'he thought she still might faint. But
she tried to $ull away just the same.
8e didn't tighten his gri$, but he didn't let go.
#nd struggling did about as much good as trying
to break a brick wall with bare hands. 'he ga!e
u$ and tried to calm her breathing.
"#re you frightened of me." 6amon said. 8e
smiled re$ro!ingly, as if they shared a secret.
"/ou don't need to be."
8ow had "lena managed to deal with this.
But "lena hadn't, of course, Bonnie realized.
"lena had succumbed to 6amon in the end.
6amon had won and had his way.
8e released one of her arms to trace, !ery
lightly, the cur!e of her u$$er li$. "& su$$ose &
should go away," he said, "and not scare you
anymore. &s that what you want."
,ike a rabbit with a snake, Bonnie thought.
This is how the rabbit feels. +nly & don't su$$ose
he'll kill me. & might just die on my own, though.
'he felt as if her legs might melt away at any
minute, as if she might colla$se. There was a
warmth and a trembling inside her.
Think of something9 fast. Those
unfathomable black eyes were filling the
uni!erse now. 'he thought she could see stars
inside them. +hink. ;uickly.
"lena wouldn't like it, she thought, just as his
li$s touched hers. /es, that was it. But the
$roblem was, she didn't ha!e the strength to say
it. The warmth was growing, rushing out to all
$arts of her, from her fingerti$s to the soles of
her feet. 8is li$s were cool, like silk, but
e!erything else was so warm. 'he didn't need to
be afraid) she could just let go and float on this.
'weetness rushed through her9
"(hat the hell is going on."
The !oice broke the silence, broke the s$ell.
Bonnie started and found herself able to turn her
head. %att was standing at the edge of the yard,
his fists clenched, his eyes like chi$s of blue ice.
&ce so cold it burned.
"3et away from her," %att said.
To Bonnie's sur$rise, the gri$ on her arms
eased. 'he ste$$ed back, straightening her
blouse, a little breathless. 8er mind was working
again.
"&t's okay," she said to %att, her !oice almost
normal. "& was just*"
"3o back to the car and stay there."
ow wait a minute, thought Bonnie. 'he was
glad %att had come) the interru$tion had been
!ery con!eniently timed. But he was coming on
a little hea!y with the $rotecti!e older brother
bit.
",ook, %att*"
"3o on," he said, still staring at 6amon.
%eredith wouldn't ha!e let herself be ordered
around this way. #nd "lena certainly wouldn't.
Bonnie o$ened her mouth to tell %att to go sit in
the car himself when she suddenly realized
something.
This was the first time in months she'd seen
%att really care about anything. The light was
back in those blue eyes*that cold flash of
righteous anger that used to make e!en Tyler
'mallwood back down. %att was ali!e right
now, and full of energy. 8e was himself again.
Bonnie bit her li$. 1or a moment she
struggled with her $ride. Then she conquered it
and lowered her eyes.
"Thanks for rescuing me," she murmured, and
left the yard.

%att was so angry he didn't dare mo!e closer
to 6amon for fear he might take a swing at him.
#nd the chilling darkness in 6amon's eyes told
him that wouldn't be a !ery good idea.
But 6amon's !oice was smooth, almost
dis$assionate. "%y taste for blood isn't just a
whim, you know. &t's a necessity you're
interfering with here. &'m only doing what & ha!e
to."
This callous indifference was too much for
%att. They think of us as food, he remembered.
They're the hunters, we're the $rey. #nd he had
his claws in Bonnie, Bonnie who couldn't
wrestle a kitten.
Contem$tuously he said, "(hy don't you $ick
on somebody your own size, then."
6amon smiled and the air went colder. ",ike
you."
%att just stared at him. 8e could feel muscles
clench in his jaw. #fter a moment he said tightly,
"/ou can try."
"& can do more than try, %att." 6amon took a
single ste$ toward him like a stalking $anther.
&n!oluntarily, %att thought of jungle cats, of
their $owerful s$ring and their shar$, tearing
teeth. 8e thought of what Tyler had looked like
in the ;uonset hut last year when 'tefan was
through with him. 7ed meat. =ust red meat and
blood.
"(hat was that history teacher's name."
6amon was saying silkily. 8e seemed amused
now, enjoying this. "%r. Tanner, wasn't it. & did
more than try with him."
"/ou're a murderer."
6amon nodded, unoffended, as if he'd just
been introduced. "+f course, he stuck a knife in
me. & wasn't $lanning to drain him quite dry, but
he annoyed me and & changed my mind. /ou're
annoying me now, %att."
%att had his knees locked to kee$ from
running. &t was more than the catlike stalking
grace, it was more than those unearthly black
eyes fastened on his. There was something
inside 6amon that whis$ered terror to the human
brain. 'ome menace that s$oke directly to %att's
blood, telling him to do anything to get away.
But he wouldn't run. 8is con!ersation with
'tefan was blurred in his mind right now, but he
knew one thing from it. "!en if he died here, he
wouldn't run.
"6on't be stu$id," 6amon said, as if he'd
heard e!ery word of %att's thoughts. "/ou'!e
ne!er had blood taken from you by force, ha!e
you. &t hurts, %att. &t hurts a lot."
"lena, %att remembered. That first time when
she'd taken his blood he'd been scared, and the
fear had been bad enough. But he'd been doing it
of his own !olition then. (hat would it be like
when he was unwilling.
& will not run. & will not look away.
#loud he said, still looking straight at 6amon,
"&f you're going to kill me, you'd better sto$
talking and do it. Because maybe you can make
me die, but that's all you can make me do."
"/ou're e!en stu$ider than my brother,"
6amon said. (ith two ste$s he crossed the
distance to %att. 8e grabbed %att by his T5shirt,
one hand on either side of the throat. "& guess &'ll
ha!e to teach you the same way."
"!erything was frozen. %att could smell his
own fear, but he wouldn't mo!e. 8e couldn't
mo!e now.
&t didn't matter. 8e hadn't gi!en in. &f he died
right now, he died knowing that.
6amon's teeth were a white glitter in the dark.
'har$ as car!ing kni!es. %att could almost feel
the razor bite of them before they touched him.
& will not surrender anything, he thought, and
closed his eyes.
The sho!e took him com$letely off balance.
8e stumbled and fell backward, his eyes flying
o$en. 6amon had let go and $ushed him away.
"-$ressionless, those black eyes looked down
at him where he sat in the dirt.
"&'ll try to $ut this in a way you can
understand," 6amon said. "/ou don't want to
mess with me, %att. & am more dangerous than
you can $ossibly imagine. ow get out of here.
&t's my watch."
'ilently, %att got u$. 8e rubbed at his shirt
where 6amon's hands had crum$led it. #nd then
he left, but he didn't run and he didn't flinch
from 6amon's eyes.
& won, he thought. &'m still ali!e, so & won.
#nd there had been a kind of grim res$ect in
those black eyes in the end. &t made %att wonder
about some things. &t really did.

Bonnie and %eredith were sitting in the car
when he got back. They both looked concerned.
"/ou were gone a long time," Bonnie said.
"#re you okay."
%att wished $eo$le would sto$ asking him
that. "&'m fine," he said, and then added,
"7eally." #fter a moment's thought he decided
there was something else he should say. "'orry if
& yelled at you back there, Bonnie."
"That's all right," Bonnie said coolly. Then,
thawing, she said, "/ou really do look better,
you know. %ore like your old self."
"/eah." 8e rubbed at his crum$led T5shirt
again, looking around. "(ell, tangling with
!am$ires is ob!iously a great warm5u$
e-ercise."
"(hat'd you guys do. ,ower your heads and
run at each other from o$$osite sides of the
yard." asked %eredith.
"'omething like that. 8e says he's going to
watch 0ickie now."
"6o you think we can trust him." %eredith
said soberly.
%att considered. "#s a matter of fact, & do. &t's
weird, but & don't think he's going to hurt her.
#nd if the killer comes along, & think he's in for
a sur$rise. 6amon's s$oiling for a fight. (e
might as well go back to the library for 'tefan."
'tefan wasn't !isible outside the library, but
when the car had cruised u$ and down the street
once or twice he materialized out of the
darkness. 8e had a thick book with him.
"Breaking and entering and grand theft,
library book," %eredith remarked. "& wonder
what you get for that these days."
"& borrowed it," 'tefan said, looking
aggrie!ed. "That's what libraries are for, right.
#nd & co$ied what & needed out of the journal."
"/ou mean you found it. /ou figured it out.
Then you can tell us e!erything, like you
$romised," Bonnie said. ",et's go to the
boarding house."
'tefan looked slightly sur$rised when he
heard that 6amon had turned u$ and stationed
himself at 0ickie's, but he made no comment.
%att didn't tell him e-actly how 6amon had
turned u$, and he noticed Bonnie didn't either.
"&'m almost $ositi!e about what's going on in
1ell's Church. #nd &'!e got half the $uzzle
sol!ed, anyway," 'tefan said once they were all
settled in his room in the boarding house attic.
"But there's only one way to $ro!e it, and only
one way to sol!e the other half. & need hel$, but
it isn't something &'m going to ask lightly." 8e
was looking at Bonnie and %eredith as he said
it.
They looked at each other, then back at him.
"This guy killed one of our friends," said
%eredith. "#nd he's dri!ing another one crazy. &f
you need our hel$, you'!e got it."
"(hate!er it takes," Bonnie added.
"&t's something dangerous, isn't it." %att
demanded. 8e couldn't restrain himself. #s if
Bonnie hadn't been through enough9
"&t's dangerous, yes. But it's their fight too,
you know."
"6arn right it is," said Bonnie. %eredith was
ob!iously trying to re$ress a smile. 1inally she
had to turn away and grin.
"%att's back," she said when 'tefan asked her
what the joke was.
"(e missed you," added Bonnie. %att
couldn't understand why they were all smiling at
him, and it made him feel hot and
uncomfortable. 8e went o!er to stand by the
window.
"&t is dangerous) & won't try to kid you about
that," 'tefan said to the girls. "But it's the only
chance. The whole thing's a little com$licated,
and &'d better start at the beginning. (e ha!e to
go back to the founding of 1ell's Church9"
8e talked on late into the night.
+hursday, /une 11, 4255 A.M.
,ear ,iary,
I couldn't write last night, because I got in too
late. Mom was u#set again. "he'd have been
hysterical i! she'd known what I was actually
doing. .anging out with vam#ires and #lanning
something that may get me killed. +hat may get
us all killed.
"te!an has a #lan to tra# the guy who
murdered "ue. It reminds me o! some o! lena's
#lans*and that's what worries me. +hey always
sounded wonder!ul, but lots o! the time they
went wrong.
$e talked about who gets the most dangerous
6ob and decided it should be Meredith. $hich is
!ine with me*I mean, she is stronger and more
athletic, and she always kee#s calm in
emergencies. But it bugs me 6ust a little that
everybody was so 7uick about choosing her,
es#ecially Matt. I mean, it's not like I'm totally
incom#etent. I know I'm not as smart as the
others, and I'm certainly not as good at s#orts
or as cool under #ressure, but I'm not a total
dweeb. I'm good !or something.
Anyway, we're going to do it a!ter graduation.
$e're all in on it e8ce#t ,amon, who'll be
watching Vickie. It's strange, but we all trust
him now. ven me. ,es#ite what he did to me
last night, I don't think he'll let Vickie get hurt.
I haven't had any more dreams about lena. I
think i! I do, I will go absolutely screaming
berserk. (r never go to slee# again. I 6ust can't
take any more o! that.
All right. I'd better go. .o#e!ully, by "unday
we'll have the mystery solved and die killer
caught. I trust "te!an.
I 6ust ho#e I can remember my #art.
Nine
"9 #nd so, ladies and gentlemen, & gi!e you
the class of 'ED4"
Bonnie threw her ca$ into the air along with
e!eryone else. (e made it, she thought.
(hate!er ha$$ens tonight, %att and %eredith
and & made it to graduation. There had been
times this last school year when she had
seriously doubted they would.
Considering 'ue's death, Bonnie had e-$ected
the graduation ceremony to be listless or grim.
&nstead, there was a sort of frenzied e-citement
about it. #s if e!eryone was celebrating being
ali!e*before it was too late.
&t turned into rowdiness as $arents surged
forward and the senior class of 7obert ". ,ee
fragmented in all directions, whoo$ing and
acting u$. Bonnie retrie!ed her ca$ and then
looked u$ into her mother's camera lens.
#ct normal, that's what's im$ortant, she told
herself. 'he caught a glim$se of "lena's aunt
=udith and 7obert %a-well, the man #unt =udith
had recently married, standing on the sidelines.
7obert was holding "lena's little sister,
%argaret, by the hand. (hen they saw her, they
smiled bra!ely, but she felt uncomfortable when
they came her way.
"+h, %iss 3ilbert*& mean, %rs. %a-well*
you shouldn't ha!e," she said as #unt =udith
handed her a small bouquet of $ink roses.
#unt =udith smiled through the tears in her
eyes. "This would ha!e been a !ery s$ecial day
for "lena," she said. "& want it to be s$ecial for
you and %eredith, too."
"+h, #unt =udith." &m$ulsi!ely, Bonnie threw
her arms around the older woman. "&'m so
sorry," she whis$ered. "/ou know how much."
"(e all miss her," #unt =udith said. Then she
$ulled back and smiled again and the three of
them left. Bonnie turned from looking at them
with a lum$ in her throat to look at the madly
celebrating crowd.
There was 7ay 8ernandez, the boy she'd gone
to 8omecoming with, in!iting e!erybody to a
$arty at his house that night. There was Tyler's
friend 6ick Carter, making a fool of himself as
usual. Tyler was smiling brazenly as his father
took $icture after $icture. %att was listening,
with an unim$ressed look, to some football
recruiter from =ames %ason Ani!ersity.
%eredith was standing nearby, holding a
bouquet of red roses and looking $ensi!e.
0ickie wasn't there. 8er $arents had ke$t her
home, saying she was in no state to go out.
Caroline wasn't there either. 'he was staying in
the a$artment in 8eron. 8er mother had told
Bonnie's mother she had the flu, but Bonnie
knew the truth. Caroline was scared.
#nd maybe she's right, Bonnie thought,
mo!ing toward %eredith. Caroline may be the
only one of us to make it through ne-t week.
,ook normal, act normal. 'he reached
%eredith's grou$. %eredith was wra$$ing the
red5and5black tassel from her ca$ around the
bouquet, twisting it between elegant, ner!ous
fingers.
Bonnie threw a quick glance around. 3ood.
This was the $lace. #nd now was the time.
"Be careful with that) you'll ruin it," she said
aloud.
%eredith's look of thoughtful melancholy
didn't change. 'he went on staring at the tassel,
kinking it u$. "&t doesn't seem fair," she said,
"that we should get these and "lena shouldn't.
&t's wrong."
"& know) it's awful," Bonnie said. But she ke$t
her tone light. "& wish there was something we
could do about it, but we can't."
"&t's all wrong," %eredith went on, as if she
hadn't heard. "8ere we are out in the sunlight,
graduating, and there she is under that*stone."
"& know, & know," Bonnie said in a soothing
tone. "%eredith, you're getting yourself all u$set.
(hy don't you try to think about something
else. ,ook, after you go out to dinner with your
$arents, do you want to go to 7aymond's $arty.
"!en if we're not in!ited, we can crash it."
"o4" %eredith said with startling
!ehemence. "& don't want to go to any $arty.
8ow can you e!en think of that, Bonnie. 8ow
can you be so shallow."
"(ell, we'!e got to do something 9"
"&'ll tell you what I'm doing. &'m going u$ to
the cemetery after dinner. &'m going to $ut this
on "lena's gra!e. 'he's the one who deser!es it."
%eredith's knuckles were white as she shook the
tassel in her hand.
"%eredith, don't be an idiot. /ou can't go u$
there, es$ecially at night. That's crazy. %att
would say the same thing."
"(ell, &'m not asking %att. &'m not asking
anybody. &'m going by myself."
"/ou can't. 3od, %eredith, & always thought
you had some brains*"
"#nd & always thought you had some
sensiti!ity. But ob!iously you don't e!en want to
think about "lena. +r is it just because you want
her old boyfriend for yourself."
Bonnie sla$$ed her.
&t was a good hard sla$, with $lenty of energy
behind it. %eredith drew in a shar$ breath, one
hand to her reddening cheek. "!eryone around
them was staring.
"That's it for you, Bonnie %cCullough,"
%eredith said after a moment, in a !oice of
deadly quiet. "& don't e!er want to s$eak to you
again." 'he turned on her heel and walked away2
"e!er would be too soon for me4" Bonnie
shouted at her retreating back.
"yes were hastily a!erted as Bonnie looked
around her. But there was no question that she
and %eredith had been the center of attention for
se!eral minutes $ast. Bonnie bit the inside of her
cheek to kee$ a straight face and walked o!er to
%att, who had lost the recruiter.
"8ow was that." she murmured.
"3ood."
"6o you think the sla$ was too much. (e
didn't really $lan that) & was just sort of going
with the moment. %aybe it was too ob!ious9"
"&t was fine, just fine." %att was looking
$reoccu$ied. ot that dull, a$athetic, turned5in
look of the last few months, but distinctly
abstracted.
"(hat is it. 'omething wrong with the $lan."
Bonnie said.
"o, no. ,isten, Bonnie, &'!e been thinking.
/ou were the one to disco!er %r. Tanner's body
in the 8aunted 8ouse last 8alloween, right."
Bonnie was startled. 'he ga!e an in!oluntary
shi!er of distaste. "(ell, & was the first one to
know he was dead, really dead, instead of just
$laying his scene. (hy on earth do you want to
talk about that now."
"Because maybe you can answer this
question. Could %r. Tanner ha!e got a knife in
6amon."
"$hat-"
"(ell, could he."
"&9" Bonnie blinked and frowned. Then she
shrugged. "& su$$ose so. 'ure. &t was a 6ruid
sacrifice scene, remember, and the knife we used
was a real knife. (e talked about using a fake
one, but since %r. Tanner was going to be lying
right there beside it, we figured it was safe
enough. #s a matter of fact9" Bonnie's frown
dee$ened. "& think when & found the body, the
knife was in a different $lace from where we'd
set it in the beginning. But then, some kid could
ha!e mo!ed it. %att, why are you asking."
"=ust something 6amon said to me," %att
said, staring off into the distance again. "&
wondered if it could be the truth."
"+h." Bonnie waited for him to say more, but
he didn't. "(ell," she said finally, "if it's all
cleared u$, can you come back to "arth, $lease.
#nd don't you think you should maybe $ut your
arm around me. =ust to show you're on my side
and there's no chance you're going to show u$ at
"lena's gra!e tonight with %eredith."
%att snorted, but the faraway look
disa$$eared from his eyes. 1or just a brief
instant he $ut his arm around her and squeezed.

6FjG !u, %eredith thought as she stood at the
gate to the cemetery. The $roblem was, she
couldn't remember e-actly which of her $re!ious
e-$eriences in the gra!eyard this night reminded
her of. There had been so many.
&n a way, it had all started here. &t had been
here that "lena had sworn not to rest until 'tefan
belonged to her. 'he'd made Bonnie and
%eredith swear to hel$ her, too*in blood. 8ow
suitable, %eredith thought now.
#nd it had been here that Tyler had assaulted
"lena the night of the 8omecoming dance.
'tefan had come to the rescue, and that had been
the beginning for them. This gra!eyard had seen
a lot.
&t had e!en seen the whole grou$ of them file
u$ the hill to the ruined church last 6ecember,
looking for :atherine's lair. 'e!en of them had
gone down into the cry$t2 %eredith herself,
Bonnie, %att, and "lena, with 'tefan, 6amon,
and #laric. But only si- of them had come out
all right. (hen they took "lena out of there, it
was to bury her.
This gra!eyard had been the beginning, and
the end as well. #nd maybe there would be
another end tonight.
%eredith started walking.
& wish you were here now, #laric, she
thought. & could use your o$timism and your
sa!!y about the su$ernatural*and & wouldn't
mind your muscles, either.
"lena's headstone was in the new cemetery, of
course, where the grass was still tended and the
gra!es marked with wreaths of flowers. The
stone was !ery sim$le, almost $lain looking,
with a brief inscri$tion. %eredith bent down and
$laced her bouquet of roses in front of it. Then,
slowly, she added the red5and5black tassel from
her ca$. &n this dim light, both colors looked the
same, like dried blood. 'he knelt and folded her
hands quietly. #nd she waited.
#ll around her the cemetery was still. &t
seemed to be waiting with her, breath held in
antici$ation. The rows of white stones stretched
on either side of her, shining faintly. %eredith
listened for any sound.
#nd then she heard one. 8ea!y footste$s.
(ith her head down, she stayed quiet,
$retending she noticed nothing.
The footste$s sounded closer, not e!en
bothering to be stealthy.
"8i, %eredith."
%eredith looked around quickly. "+h*
Tyler," she said. "/ou scared me. & thought you
were*ne!er mind."
"/eah." Tyler's li$s skinned back in an
unsettling grin. "(ell, &'m sorry you're
disa$$ointed. But it's me, just me and nobody
else."
"(hat are you doing here, Tyler. o good
$arties."
"& could ask you the same question." Tyler's
eyes dro$$ed to the headstone and the tassel and
his face darkened. "But & guess & already know
the answer. /ou're here for her. "lena 3ilbert, #
,ight in 6arkness," he read sarcastically.
"That's right," %eredith said e!enly. " '"lena'
means light, you know. #nd she was certainly
surrounded by darkness. &t almost beat her, but
she won in the end."
"%aybe," Tyler said, and worked his jaw
meditati!ely, squinting. "But you know,
%eredith, it's a funny thing about darkness.
There's always more of it waiting in the wings."
",ike tonight," %eredith said, looking u$ at
the sky. &t was clear and dotted with faint stars.
"&t's !ery dark tonight, Tyler. But sooner or later
the sun will come u$."
"/eah, but the moon comes u$ first." Tyler
chuckled suddenly, as if at some joke only he
could see. "8ey, %eredith, you e!er see the
'mallwood family $lot. (ell, come on and &'ll
show you. &t's not far."
=ust like he showed "lena, %eredith thought.
&n a way she was enjoying this !erbal fencing,
but she ne!er lost sight of what she had come
here for. 8er cold fingers di$$ed into her jacket
$ocket and found the tiny s$rig of !er!ain there.
"That's all right, Tyler. & think &'d $refer to stay
here."
"/ou sure about that. # cemetery's a
dangerous $lace to be alone."
Anquiet s$irits, %eredith thought. 'he looked
right at him. "& know."
8e was grinning again, dis$laying teeth like
tombstones. "#nyway, you can see it from here
if you ha!e good eyes. ,ook that way, toward
the old gra!eyard. ow, do you see something
sort of shining red in the middle."
"o." There was a $ale luminosity o!er the
trees in the east. %eredith ke$t her eyes on it.
"#w, come on, %eredith. /ou're not trying.
+nce the moon's u$ you'll see it better."
"Tyler, & can't waste any more time here. &'m
going."
"o, you're not," he said. #nd then, as her
fingers tightened on the !er!ain, encom$assing
it in her fist, he added in a wheedling !oice, "&
mean, you're not going until & tell you the story
of that headstone, are you. &t's a great story. 'ee,
the headstone is made of red marble, the only
one of its kind in the whole gra!eyard. #nd that
ball on to$*see it.*that must weigh about a
ton. But it mo!es. &t turns whene!er a
'mallwood is going to die. %y grandfather
didn't belie!e that) he $ut a scratch on it right
down the front. 8e used to come out and check
it e!ery month or so. Then one day he came and
found the scratch in the rear. The ball had turned
com$letely backward. 8e did e!erything he
could to turn it around, but he couldn't. &t was
too hea!y. #nd that night, in bed, he died. They
buried him under it."
"8e $robably had a heart attack from
o!ere-ertion," %eredith said caustically, but her
$alms were tingling.
"/ou're funny, aren't you. #lways so cool.
#lways so together. Takes a lot to make you
scream, doesn't it."
"&'m lea!ing, Tyler. &'!e had enough."
8e let her walk a few $aces, then said, "/ou
screamed that night at Caroline's, though, didn't
you."
%eredith turned back. "8ow do you know
that."
Tyler rolled his eyes. "3i!e me credit for a
little intelligence, okay. & know a lot, %eredith.
1or instance, & know what's in your $ocket."
%eredith's fingers stilled. "(hat do you
mean."
"0er!ain, %eredith. Verbena o!!icinalis. &'!e
got a friend who's into these things." Tyler was
focused now, his smile growing, watching her
face as if it were his fa!orite T0 show. ,ike a cat
tired of $laying with a mouse, he was mo!ing in.
"#nd & know what it's for, too." 8e cast an
e-aggerated glance around and $ut a finger to
his li$s. "'hh. 0am$ires," he whis$ered. Then he
threw back his head and laughed loudly.
%eredith backed away a ste$.
"/ou think that's going to hel$ you, don't you.
But &'m going to tell you a secret."
%eredith's eyes measured the distance
between herself and the $ath. 'he ke$t her face
calm, but a !iolent shaking was beginning inside
her. 'he didn't know if she was going to be able
to $ull this off.
"/ou're not going anywhere, babe," Tyler
said, and a large hand clas$ed %eredith's wrist.
&t was hot and dam$ where she could feel it
below her jacket cuff. "/ou're going to stay right
here for your sur$rise." 8is body was hunched
now, his head thrust forward, and there was an
e-ultant leer on his li$s.
",et me go, Tyler. /ou're hurting me4" <anic
flashed down all %eredith's ner!es at the feel of
Tyler's flesh against hers. But the hand only
gri$$ed harder, grinding tendon against bone in
her wrist.
"This is a secret, baby, that nobody else
knows," Tyler said, $ulling her close, his breath
hot in her face. "/ou came here all decked out
against !am$ires. But &'m not a !am$ire."
%eredith's heart was $ounding. ",et go4"
"1irst & want you to look o!er there. /ou can
see the headstone now," he said, turning her so
that she couldn't hel$ but look. #nd he was right)
she could see it, like a red monument with a
shining globe on to$. +r*not a globe. That
marble ball looked like9 it looked like9
"ow look east. (hat do you see there,
%eredith." Tyler went on, his !oice hoarse with
e-citement.
&t was the full moon. &t had risen while he'd
been talking to her, and now it hung abo!e the
hills, $erfectly round and enormously distended,
a huge and swollen red ball.
#nd that was what the headstone looked like.
,ike a full moon dri$$ing with blood.
"/ou came here $rotected against !am$ires,
%eredith," Tyler said from behind her, e!en
more hoarsely. "But the 'mallwoods aren't
!am$ires at all. (e're something else."
#nd then he growled.
o human throat could ha!e made the sound.
&t wasn't an imitation of an animal) it was real. A
!icious guttural snarl that went u$ and u$,
sna$$ing %eredith's head around to look at him,
to stare in disbelief. (hat she was seeing was so
horrible her mind couldn't acce$t it9
%eredith screamed.
"& told you it was a sur$rise. 8ow do you like
it." Tyler said. 8is !oice was thick with sali!a,
and his red tongue lolled among the rows of long
canine teeth. 8is face wasn't a face anymore. &t
jutted out grotesquely into a muzzle, and his
eyes were yellow, with slitlike $u$ils. 8is
reddish5sandy hair had grown o!er his cheeks
and down the back of his neck. # $elt. "/ou can
scream all you want u$ here and nobody's going
to hear you," he added.
"!ery muscle in %eredith's body was rigid,
trying to get away from him. &t was a !isceral
reaction, one she couldn't ha!e hel$ed if she
wanted to. 8is breath was so hot, and it smelled
feral, like an animal. The nails he was digging
into her wrist were stum$y blackened claws. 'he
didn't ha!e the strength to scream again.
"There's other things besides !am$ires with a
taste for blood," Tyler said in his new slur$ing
!oice. "#nd & want to taste yours. But first we're
going to ha!e some fun."
#lthough he still stood on two feet, his body
was hum$ed and strangely distorted. %eredith's
struggles were feeble as he forced her to the
ground. 'he was a strong girl, but he was far
stronger, his muscles bunching under his shirt as
he $inned her.
"/ou'!e always been too good for me, ha!en't
you. (ell, now you're going to find out what
you'!e been missing."
& can't breathe, %eredith thought wildly. 8is
arm was across her throat, blocking her air. 3ray
wa!es rolled through her brain. &f she $assed out
now9
"/ou're going to wish you died as fast as
'ue." Tyler's face floated abo!e her, red as the
moon, with that long tongue lolling. 8is other
hand held her arms abo!e her head. "/ou e!er
hear the story of ,ittle 7ed 7iding 8ood."
The gray was turning into blackness, s$eckled
with little lights. ,ike stars, %eredith thought.
&'m falling in the stars9
"Tyler, take your hands off her4 ,et go of her,
now4" %att's !oice shouted.
Tyler's sla!ering snarl broke off into a
sur$rised whine. The arm against %eredith's
throat released $ressure, and air rushed into her
lungs.
1ootste$s were $ounding around her. "&'!e
been waiting a long time to do this, Tyler," %att
said, jerking the sandy5red head back by the hair.
Then %att's fist smashed into Tyler's newly
grown muzzle. Blood s$urted from the wet
animal nose.
The sound Tyler made froze %eredith's heart
in her chest. 8e s$rang at %att, twisting in
midair, claws outstretched. %att fell back under
the assault and %eredith, dizzy, tried to $ush
herself u$ off the ground. 'he couldn't) all her
muscles were trembling uncontrollably. But
someone else $icked Tyler off %att as if Tyler
weighed no more than a doll.
"=ust like old times, Tyler," 'tefan said,
setting Tyler on his feet and facing him.
Tyler stared a minute, then tried to run.
8e was fast, dodging with animal agility
between the rows of gra!es. But 'tefan was
faster and cut him off.
"%eredith, are you hurt. %eredith." Bonnie
was kneeling beside her. %eredith nodded*she
still couldn't s$eak*and let Bonnie su$$ort her
head. "& knew we should ha!e sto$$ed him
sooner, & knew it," Bonnie went on worriedly.
'tefan was dragging Tyler back. "& always
knew you were a jerk," he said, sho!ing Tyler
against a headstone, "but & didn't know you were
this stu$id. &'d ha!e thought you would ha!e
learned not to jum$ girls in gra!eyards, but no.
#nd you had to brag about what you did to 'ue,
too. That wasn't smart, Tyler."
%eredith looked at them as they faced each
other. 'o different, she thought. "!en though
they were both creatures of darkness in some
way. 'tefan was $ale, his green eyes blazing
with anger and menace, but there was a dignity,
almost a $urity about him. 8e was like some
stern angel car!ed in unyielding marble. Tyler
just looked like a tra$$ed animal. 8e was
crouched, breathing hard, blood and sali!a
mingling on his chest. Those yellow eyes
glittered with hate and fear, and his fingers
worked as if he'd like to claw something. # low
sound came out of his throat.
"6on't worry, &'m not going to beat you u$
this time," 'tefan said. "ot unless you try to get
away. (e're all going u$ to the church to ha!e a
little chat. /ou like to tell stories, Tyler) well,
you're going to tell me one now."
Tyler s$rang at him, !aulting straight from the
ground for 'tefan's throat. But 'tefan was ready
for him. %eredith sus$ected that both 'tefan and
%att enjoyed the ne-t few minutes, working off
their accumulated aggressions, but she didn't, so
she looked away.
&n the end, Tyler was trussed u$ with nylon
cord. 8e could walk, or shuffle at least, and
'tefan held the back of his shirt and guided him
urgently u$ the $ath to the church.
&nside, 'tefan $ushed Tyler onto the ground
near the o$en tomb. "ow," he said, "we are
going to talk. #nd you're going to coo$erate,
Tyler, or you're going to be !ery, !ery sorry."
Ten
%eredith sat down on the knee5high wall of
the ruined church. "/ou said it was going to be
dangerous, 'tefan, but you didn't say you were
going to let him strangle me."
"&'m sorry. & was ho$ing he'd gi!e some more
information, es$ecially after he admitted to
being there when 'ue died. But & shouldn't ha!e
waited."
"& ha!en't admitted anything4 /ou can't $ro!e
anything," Tyler said. The animal whine was
back in his !oice, but on the walk u$ his face
and body had returned to normal. +r rather,
they'd returned to human, %eredith thought. The
swelling and bruises and dried blood weren't
normal.
"This isn't a court of law, Tyler," she said.
"/our father can't hel$ you now."
"But if it were, we'd ha!e a $retty good case,"
'tefan added. ""nough to $ut you away on
cons$iracy to commit murder, & think."
"That's if somebody doesn't melt down their
grandma's teas$oons to make a sil!er bullet,"
%att $ut in.
Tyler looked from one to another of them. "&
won't tell you anything."
"Tyler, you know what you are. /ou're a
bully," Bonnie said. "#nd bullies always talk."
"/ou don't mind $inning a girl down and
threatening her," said %att, "but when her
friends turn u$, you're scared s$itless."
Tyler just glared at all of them.
"(ell, if you don't want to talk, & guess &'ll
ha!e to," 'tefan said. 8e leaned down and
$icked u$ the thick book he'd gotten from the
library. +ne foot on the li$ of the tomb, he rested
the book on his knee and o$ened it. &n that
moment, %eredith thought, he looked
frighteningly like 6amon.
"This is a book by 3er!ase of Tilbury, Tyler,"
he said. "&t was written around the year CDC? #.6.
+ne of the things it talks about is werewol!es."
"/ou can't $ro!e anything4 /ou don't ha!e
any e!idence*"
"'hut u$, Tyler4" 'tefan looked at him. "&
don't need to $ro!e it. & can see it, e!en now.
8a!e you forgotten what & am." There was a
silence, and then 'tefan went on. "(hen & got
here a few days ago, there was a mystery. # girl
was dead. But who killed her. #nd why. #ll the
clues & could see seemed contradictory.
"&t wasn't an ordinary killing, not some human
$sycho off the street. & had the word of
somebody & trusted on that*and inde$endent
e!idence, too. #n ordinary killer can't work a
+uija board by telekinesis. #n ordinary killer
can't cause fuses to blow in a $ower $lant
hundreds of miles away.
"o, this was somebody with tremendous
$hysical and $sychic $ower. 1rom e!erything
0ickie told me, it sounded like a !am$ire.
""-ce$t that 'ue Carson still had her blood. #
!am$ire would ha!e drained at least some of it.
o !am$ire could resist that, es$ecially not a
killer. That's where the high comes from, and the
high's the reason to kill. But the $olice doctor
found no holes in her !eins, and only a small
amount of bleeding. &t didn't make sense.
"#nd there was another thing. &ou were in
that house, Tyler. /ou made the mistake of
grabbing Bonnie that night, and then you made
the mistake of shooting off your mouth the ne-t
day, saying things you couldn't ha!e known
unless you were there.
"'o what did we ha!e. # seasoned !am$ire, a
!icious killer with <ower to s$are. +r a high
school bully who couldn't organize a tri$ to the
toilet without falling o!er his own feet. (hich.
The e!idence $ointed both ways, and & couldn't
make u$ my mind.
"Then & went to see 'ue's body myself. #nd
there it was, the biggest mystery of all. # cut
here." 'tefan's finger sketched a shar$ line down
from his collarbone. "Ty$ical, traditional cut*
made by !am$ires to share their own blood. But
'ue wasn't a !am$ire, and she didn't make that
cut herself. 'omeone made it for her as she lay
there dying on the ground."
%eredith shut her eyes, and she heard Bonnie
swallow hard beside her. 'he $ut out a hand and
found Bonnie's and held tight, but she went on
listening. 'tefan had not gone into this kind of
detail in his e-$lanation to them before.
"0am$ires don't need to cut their !ictims like
that) they use their teeth," 'tefan said. 8is u$$er
li$ lifted slightly to show his own teeth. "But if a
!am$ire wanted to draw blood !or somebody
else to drink, he might cut instead of biting. &f a
!am$ire wanted to gi!e someone else the first
and only taste, he might do that.
"#nd that started me thinking about blood.
Blood is im$ortant, you see. 1or !am$ires, it
gi!es life, <ower. &t's all we need for sur!i!al,
and there are times when needing it dri!es us
crazy. But it's good for other things, too. 1or
instance9 initiation.
"&nitiation and <ower. ow & was thinking
about those two things, $utting them together
with what &'d seen of you, Tyler, when & was in
1ell's Church before. ,ittle things & hadn't really
focused on. But & remembered something "lena
had told me about your family history, and &
decided to check it out in 8onoria 1ell's
journal."
'tefan lifted a $iece of $a$er from between
the $ages of the book he held. "#nd there it was,
in 8onoria's handwriting. & Hero-ed the $age so
& could read it to you. The 'mallwoods' little
family secret*if you can read between the
lines."
,ooking down at the $a$er, he read2
"%ovember 19. Candles made, !la8 s#un. $e
are short on cornmeal and salt, but we will get
through the winter. :ast night an alarm; wolves
attacked /acob "mallwood as he returned !rom
the !orest. I treated the wound with whortleberry
and sallow bark, but it is dee# and I am a!raid.
A!ter coming home I cast the runes. I have told
no one but +homas the results.
"Casting the runes is di!ining," 'tefan added,
looking u$. "8onoria was what we'd call a
witch. 'he goes on here to talk about 'wolf
trouble' in !arious other $arts of the settlement*
it seems that all of a sudden there were frequent
attacks, es$ecially on young girls. 'he tells how
she and her husband became more and more
concerned. #nd finally, this2
",ecember 95. $ol! trouble at the
"mallwoods' again. $e heard the screams a !ew
minutes ago, and +homas said it was time. .e
made the bullets yesterday. .e has loaded his
ri!le and we will walk over. I! we are s#ared, I
will write again.
",ecember 91. $ent over to "mallwoods' last
night. /acob sorely a!!licted. $ol! killed.
"$e will bury /acob in the little graveyard at
the !oot o! the hill. May his soul !ind #eace in
death.
"&n the official history of 1ell's Church,"
'tefan said, "that's been inter$reted to mean that
Thomas 1ell and his wife went o!er to the
'mallwoods' to find =acob 'mallwood being
attacked by a wolf again, and that the wolf killed
him. But that's wrong. (hat it really says is not
that the wolf killed =acob 'mallwood but that
=acob 'mallwood, the wol!, was killed."
'tefan shut the book. "8e was a werewolf,
your great5great5great5whate!er grandfather,
Tyler. 8e got that way by being attacked by a
werewolf himself. #nd he $assed his werewolf
!irus on to the son who was born eight and a
half months after he died. =ust the way your
father $assed it on to you."
"& always knew there was something about
you, Tyler," Bonnie said, and %eredith o$ened
her eyes. "& ne!er could tell what it was, but at
the back of my mind something was telling me
you were cree$y."
"(e used to make jokes about it," %eredith
said, her !oice still husky. "#bout your 'animal
magnetism and your big white teeth. (e just
ne!er knew how close to the mark we were."
"'ometimes $sychics can sense that kind of
thing," 'tefan conceded. "'ometimes e!en
ordinary $eo$le can. & should ha!e seen it, but &
was $reoccu$ied. 'till, that's no e-cuse. #nd
ob!iously somebody else*the $sychic killer*
saw it right away. 6idn't he, Tyler. # man
wearing an old raincoat came to you. 8e was
tall, with blond hair and blue eyes, and he made
some kind of a deal with you. &n e-change for*
something*he'd show you how to reclaim your
heritage. 8ow to become a real werewolf.
"Because according to 3er!ase of Tilbury"*
'tefan ta$$ed the book on his knee*"a
werewolf who hasn't been bitten himself needs
to be initiated. That means you can ha!e the
werewolf !irus all your life but ne!er e!en know
it because it's ne!er acti!ated. 3enerations of
'mallwoods ha!e li!ed and died, but the !irus
was dormant in them because they didn't know
the secret of waking it u$. But the man in the
raincoat knew. 8e knew that you ha!e to kill and
taste fresh blood. #fter that, at the first full moon
you can change." 'tefan glanced u$, and
%eredith followed his gaze to the white disk of
the moon in the sky. &t looked clean and two
dimensional now, no longer a sullen red globe.
# look of sus$icion $assed o!er Tyler's fleshy
features, and then a look of renewed fury. "/ou
tricked me4 /ou $lanned this4"
"0ery cle!er," said %eredith, and %att said,
"o kidding." Bonnie wet her finger and marked
an imaginary C on an in!isible 'coreboard.
"& knew you wouldn't be able to resist
following one of the girls here if you thought
she'd be alone," said 'tefan. "/ou'd think that
the gra!eyard was the $erfect $lace to kill) you'd
ha!e com$lete $ri!acy. #nd & knew you wouldn't
be able to resist bragging about what you'd done.
& was ho$ing you'd tell %eredith more about the
other killer, the one who actually threw 'ue out
the window, the one who cut her so you could
drink fresh blood. The !am$ire, Tyler. (ho is
he. (here is he hiding."
Tyler's look of !enomous hatred changed to a
sneer. "/ou think &'d tell you that. 8e's my
friend."
"8e is not your friend, Tyler. 8e's using you.
#nd he's a murderer."
"6on't get in any dee$er, Tyler," %att added.
"/ou're already an accessory. Tonight you
tried to kill %eredith. <retty soon you're not
going to be able to go back e!en if you want to.
Be smart and sto$ this now. Tell us what you
know."
Tyler bared his teeth. "&'m not telling you
anything. 8ow're you going to make me."
The others e-changed glances. The
atmos$here changed, became charged with
tension as they all turned back to Tyler.
"/ou really don't understand, do you."
%eredith said quietly. "Tyler, you hel$ed kill
'ue. 'he died for an obscene ritual so that you
could change into that thing & saw. /ou were
$lanning to kill me, and 0ickie and Bonnie too,
&'m sure. 6o you think we ha!e any $ity for you.
6o you think we brought you u$ here to be nice
to you."
There was a silence. The sneer was fading
from Tyler's li$s. 8e looked from one face to
another.
They were all im$lacable. "!en Bonnie's
small face was unforgi!ing.
"3er!ase of Tilbury mentions one interesting
thing," 'tefan said, almost $leasantly. "There's a
cure for werewol!es besides the traditional sil!er
bullet. ,isten." By moonlight, he read from the
book on his knee. "It is commonly re#orted and
held by grave and worthy doctors that i! a
werewol! be shorn o! one o! his members, he
shall surely recover his original body. 3er!ase
goes on to tell the story of 7aimbaud of
#u!ergne, a werewolf who was cured when a
car$enter cut off one of his hind $aws. +f
course, that was $robably hideously $ainful, but
the story goes that 7aimbaud thanked the
car$enter 'for ridding him fore!er of the
accursed and damnable form.' " 'tefan raised his
head. "ow, &'m thinking that if Tyler won't hel$
us with information, the least we can do is make
sure he doesn't go out and kill again. (hat do
the rest of you say."
%att s$oke u$. "& think it's our duty to cure
him."
"#ll we ha!e to do is relie!e him of one of his
members," Bonnie agreed.
"& can think of one right off," %eredith said
under her breath.
Tyler's eyes were starting to bulge. Ander the
dirt and blood his normally ruddy face had gone
$ale. "/ou're bluffing4"
"3et the a-, %att," said 'tefan. "%eredith,
you take off one of his shoes."
Tyler kicked when she did, aiming for her
face. %att came and got his head in a hammer5
lock. "6on't make it any worse on yourself,
Tyler."
The bare foot %eredith e-$osed was big, the
sole as sweaty as Tyler's $alms. Coarse hair
s$routed from the toes. &t made %eredith's skin
crawl.
",et's get this o!er with," she said.
"/ou're joking4" Tyler howled, thrashing so
that Bonnie had to come and grab his other leg
and kneel on it. "/ou can't do this4 /ou can't4"
":ee$ him still," 'tefan said. (orking
together, they stretched Tyler out, his head
locked in %att's arm, his legs s$read and $inned
by the girls. %aking sure Tyler could see what
he was doing, 'tefan balanced a branch $erha$s
two inches thick on the li$ of the tomb. 8e
raised the a- and then brought it down hard,
se!ering the stick with one blow.
"&t's shar$ enough," he said. "%eredith, roll
his $ants leg u$. Then tie some of that cord just
abo!e his ankle as tight as you can for a
tourniquet. +therwise he'll bleed out."
"/ou can't do this4" Tyler was screaming.
"&ou can't dooooooo this4"
"'cream all you want, Tyler. A$ here,
nobody's going to hear you, right." 'tefan said.
"/ou're no better than & am4" Tyler yelled in a
s$ray of s$ittle. "/ou're a killer too4"
"& know e-actly what & am," 'tefan said.
"Belie!e me, Tyler. & know. &s e!erybody ready.
3ood. 8old on to him) he's going to jum$ when
& do it."
Tyler's screams weren't e!en words anymore.
%att was holding him so that he could see
'tefan kneel and take aim, hefting the a- blade
abo!e Tyler's ankle to gauge force and distance.
"ow," said 'tefan, raising the a- high.
"%o* %o4 &'ll talk to you4 &'ll talk4" shrieked
Tyler.
'tefan glanced at him. "Too late," he said, and
brought the a- down.
&t rebounded off the stone floor with a clang
and a s$ark, but the noise was drowned by
Tyler's screaming. &t seemed to take Tyler
se!eral minutes to realize that the blade hadn't
touched his foot. 8e $aused for breath only
when he choked, and turned wild, bulging eyes
on 'tefan.
"'tart talking," 'tefan said, his !oice wintry,
remorseless.
,ittle whim$ers were coming from Tyler's
throat and there was foam on his li$s. "& don't
know his name," he gas$ed out. "But he looks
like you said. #nd you're right) he's a !am$ire,
man4 & saw him drain a ten5$oint buck while it
was still kicking. 8e lied to me," Tyler added,
the whine cree$ing back into his !oice. "8e told
me &'d be stronger than anybody, as strong as
him. 8e said & could ha!e any girl & wanted, any
way & wanted. The cree$ lied."
"8e told you that you could kill and get away
with it," 'tefan said.
"8e said & could do Caroline that night. 'he
had it coming after the way she ditched me. &
wanted to make her beg*but she got out of the
house somehow. & could ha!e Caroline and
0ickie, he said. #ll he wanted was Bonnie and
%eredith."
"But you just tried to kill %eredith."
"That was now. Things are different now,
stu$id. 8e said it was all right."
"(hy." %eredith asked 'tefan in an
undertone.
"%aybe because you'd ser!ed your $ur$ose,"
he said. "/ou'd brought me here." Then he went
on, "#ll right, Tyler, show us you're coo$erating.
Tell us how we can get this guy."
")et him. /ou're nuts4" Tyler burst into ugly
laughter, and %att tightened the arm around his
throat. "8ey, choke me all you want) it's still the
truth. 8e told me he's one of the +ld +nes, one
of the +riginals, whate!er that means. 8e said
he's been making !am$ires since before the
$yramids. 8e said he's made a bargain with the
de!il. /ou could stick a stake in his heart and it
wouldn't do anything. /ou can't kill him." The
laughter became uncontrolled.
"(here's he hiding, Tyler." 'tefan ra$$ed
out. ""!ery !am$ire needs a $lace to slee$.
(here is it."
"8e'd kill me if & told you that. 8e'd eat me,
man. 3od, if & told you what he did to that buck
before it died9" Tyler's laughter was turning
into something like sobs.
"Then you'd better hel$ us destroy him before
he can find you, hadn't you. (hat's his weak
$oint. 8ow's he !ulnerable."
"3od, that $oor buck9" Tyler was
blubbering.
"(hat about 'ue. 6id you cry o!er her."
'tefan said shar$ly. 8e $icked u$ the a-. "&
think," he said, "that you're wasting our time."
The a- lifted.
"o4 o4 &'ll talk to you) &'ll tell you
something. ,ook, there's one kind of wood that
can hurt him*not kill him, but hurt him. 8e
admitted that but didn't tell me what it was4 &
swear to you that's the truth4"
"ot good enough, Tyler," said 'tefan.
"1or 3od's sake*&'ll tell you where he's
going tonight. &f you get o!er there fast enough,
maybe you can sto$ him."
"(hat do you mean, where he's going
tonight. Talk fast, Tyler4"
"8e's going to 0ickie's, okay. 8e said tonight
we get one each. That's hel$ful, isn't it. &f you
hurry, maybe you can get there4"
'tefan had frozen, and %eredith felt her heart
racing. 0ickie. They hadn't e!en thought about
an attack on 0ickie.
"6amon's guarding her," %att said. "7ight,
'tefan. 7ight."
"8e's su$$osed to be," 'tefan said. "& left him
there at dusk. &f something ha$$ened, he should
ha!e called me9"
"/ou guys," Bonnie whis$ered. 8er eyes were
big and her li$s were trembling. "& think we'd
better get o!er there now."
They stared at her a moment and then
e!eryone was mo!ing. The a- clanged on the
floor as 'tefan dro$$ed it.
"8ey, you can't lea!e me like this4 & can't
dri!e4 8e's gonna come back for me4 Come back
and untie my hands4" Tyler shrieked. one of
them answered.
They ran all the way down the hill and $iled
into %eredith's car. %eredith took off s$eeding,
rounding corners dangerously fast and gliding
through sto$ signs, but there was a $art of her
that didn't want to get to 0ickie's house. That
wanted to turn around and dri!e the other way.
&'m calm) &'m the one who's always calm, she
thought. But that was on the outside. %eredith
knew !ery well how calm you could look on the
outside when inside e!erything was breaking u$.
They rounded the last corner onto Birch 'treet
and %eredith hit the brakes.
"+h, 3od4" Bonnie cried from the backseat.
"o4 o4"
";uick," 'tefan said. "There may still be a
chance." 8e wrenched o$en the door and was
out e!en before the car had sto$$ed. But in back,
Bonnie was sobbing.
Eleven
The car skidded in behind one of the $olice
cars that was $arked crookedly in the street.
There were lights e!erywhere, lights flashing
blue and red and amber, lights blazing from the
Bennett house.
"'tay here," %att sna$$ed, and he $lunged
outside, following 'tefan.
"o4" Bonnie's head jerked u$) she wanted to
grab him and drag him back. The dizzy nausea
she'd felt e!er since Tyler had mentioned 0ickie
was o!erwhelming her. &t was too late) she'd
known in the first instant that it was too late.
%att was only going to get himself killed too.
"/ou stay, Bonnie*kee$ the doors locked. &'ll
go after them." That was %eredith.
"o4 &'m sick of ha!ing e!erybody tell me to
stay*" Bonnie cried, struggling with the seat belt,
finally getting it unlocked. 'he was still crying,
but she could see well enough to get out of the
car and start toward 0ickie's house. 'he heard
%eredith right behind her.
The acti!ity all seemed concentrated at the
front2 $eo$le shouting, a woman screaming, the
crackling !oices of $olice radios. Bonnie and
%eredith headed straight for the back, for
0ickie's window. (hat is wrong with this
$icture. Bonnie thought wildly as they
a$$roached. The wrongness of what she was
looking at was undeniable, yet hard to $ut a
finger on. 0ickie's window was o$en*but it
couldn't be o$en) the middle $ane of a bay
window ne!er o$ens, Bonnie thought. But then
how could the curtains be fluttering out like
shirttails.
ot o$en, broken. 3lass was all o!er the
gra!el $athway, grinding underfoot. There were
shards like grinning teeth left in the bare frame.
0ickie's house had been broken into.
"'he asked him in," Bonnie cried in agonized
fury. "(hy did she do that. (hy."
"'tay here," %eredith said, trying to moisten
dry li$s.
""to# telling me that. & can take it, %eredith.
&'m mad, that's all. & hate him." 'he gri$$ed
%eredith's arm and went forward.
The ga$ing hole got closer and closer. The
curtains ri$$led. There was enough s$ace
between them to see inside.
#t the last moment, %eredith $ushed Bonnie
away and looked through first herself. &t didn't
matter. Bonnie's $sychic senses were awake and
already telling her about this $lace. &t was like
the crater left in the ground after a meteor has hit
and e-$loded, or like the charred skeleton of a
forest after a wildfire. <ower and !iolence were
still thrumming in the air, but the main e!ent
was o!er. This $lace had been !iolated.
%eredith s$un away from the window,
doubling o!er, retching. Clenching her fists so
that the nails bit into her $alms, Bonnie leaned
forward and looked in.
The smell was what struck her first. # wet
smell, meaty and co$$ery. 'he could almost
taste it, and it tasted like an accidentally bitten
tongue. The stereo was $laying something she
couldn't hear o!er the screaming out front and
the drumming5surf sound in her own ears. 8er
eyes, adjusting from the darkness outside, could
see only red. =ust red.
Because that was the new color of 0ickie's
room. The $owder blue was gone. 7ed
wall$a$er, red comforter. 7ed in great gaudy
s$lashes across the floor. #s if some kid had
gotten a bucket of red $aint and gone crazy.
The record $layer clicked and the stylus
swung back to the beginning. (ith a shock,
Bonnie recognized the song as it started o!er.
&t was "3oodnight 'weetheart."
"/ou monster," Bonnie gas$ed. <ain shot
through her stomach. 8er hand gri$$ed the
window frame, tighter, tighter. "/ou monster, &
hate you4 & hate you4"
%eredith heard and straightened u$, turning.
'he shakily $ushed back her hair and managed a
few dee$ breaths, trying to look as if she could
co$e. "/ou're cutting your hand," she said.
"8ere, let me see it."
Bonnie hadn't e!en realized she was gri$$ing
broken glass. 'he let %eredith take the hand, but
instead of letting her e-amine it, she turned it
o!er and clas$ed %eredith's own cold hand
tightly. %eredith looked terrible2 dark eyes
glazed, li$s blue5white and shaking. But
%eredith was still trying to take care of her, still
trying to kee$ it together.
"3o on," she said, looking at her friend
intently. "Cry, %eredith. 'cream if you want to.
But get it out somehow. /ou don't ha!e to be
cool now and kee$ it all inside. /ou ha!e e!ery
right to lose it today."
1or a moment %eredith just stood there,
trembling, but then she shook her head with a
ghastly attem$t at a smile. "& can't. &'m just not
made that way. Come on, let me look at the
hand."
Bonnie might ha!e argued, but just then %att
came around the corner. 8e started !iolently to
see the girls standing there.
"(hat are you doing*." he began. Then he
saw the window.
"'he's dead," %eredith said flatly.
"& know." %att looked like a bad $hotogra$h
of himself, an o!ere-$osed one. "They told me
u$ front. They're bringing out9" 8e sto$$ed.
"(e blew it. "!en after we $romised her9"
%eredith sto$$ed too. There was nothing more
to say.
"But the $olice will ha!e to belie!e us now,"
Bonnie said, looking at %att, then %eredith,
finding one thing to be grateful for. "They'll
have to."
"o," %att said, "they won't, Bonnie. Because
they're saying it's a suicide."
"# suicide.. 8a!e they seen that room. They
call that a suicide." Bonnie cried, her !oice
rising.
"They're saying she was mentally unbalanced.
They're saying she*got hold of some
scissors9"
"+h, my 3od," %eredith said, turning away.
"They think maybe she was feeling guilty for
ha!ing killed 'ue."
"'omebody broke into this house," Bonnie
said fiercely. "They'!e got to admit that4"
"o." %eredith's !oice was soft, as if she
were !ery tired. ",ook at the window here. The
glass is all outside. 'omebody from the inside
broke it." #nd that's the rest of what's wrong
with the $icture, Bonnie thought.
"8e $robably did, getting out," %att said.
They looked at each other silently, in defeat.
"(here's 'tefan." %eredith asked %att
quietly. "&s he out front where e!eryone can see
him."
"o, once we found out she was dead he
headed back this way. & was coming to look for
him. 8e must be around somewhere9"
"'h4" said Bonnie. The shouting from the
front had sto$$ed. 'o had the woman's
screaming. &n the relati!e stillness they could
hear a faint !oice from beyond the black walnut
trees in the back of the yard.
"*while you were su$$osed to be watching
her4"
The tone made Bonnie's skin break out in
gooseflesh. "That's him4" %att said. "#nd he's
with 6amon. Come on4"
+nce they were among the trees Bonnie could
hear 'tefan's !oice clearly. The two brothers
were facing each other in the moonlight.
"& trusted you, 6amon. & trusted you4" 'tefan
was saying. Bonnie had ne!er seen him so angry,
not e!en with Tyler in the gra!eyard. But it was
more than anger.
"#nd you just let it ha$$en," 'tefan went on,
without glancing at Bonnie and the others as
they a$$eared, without gi!ing 6amon a chance
to re$ly. "(hy didn't you do something. &f you
were too much of a coward to fight him, you
could at least ha!e called for me. But you just
stood there4"
6amon's face was hard, closed. 8is black
eyes glittered, and there was nothing lazy or
casual about his $osture now. 8e looked as
unbending and brittle as a $ane of glass. 8e
o$ened his mouth, but 'tefan interru$ted.
"&t's my own fault. & should ha!e known
better. & did know better. +hey all knew, they
warned me, but & wouldn't listen."
"+h, did they-" 6amon sna$$ed a glance
toward Bonnie on the sidelines. # chill went
through her.
"'tefan, wait," %att said. "& think*"
"& should ha!e listened4" 'tefan was raging
on. 8e didn't e!en seem to hear %att. "& should
ha!e stayed with her myself. & $romised her she
would be safe*and & lied4 'he died thinking &
betrayed her." Bonnie could see it in his face
now, the guilt eating into him like acid. "&f & had
stayed here*"
"/ou would be dead too4" 6amon hissed.
"This isn't an ordinary !am$ire you're dealing
with. 8e would ha!e broken you in two like a
dry twig*"
"And that would have been better4" 'tefan
cried. 8is chest was hea!ing. "& would rather
ha!e died with her than stood by and watched it4
(hat ha$$ened, 6amon." 8e had gotten hold of
himself now, and he was calm, too calm) his
green eyes were burning fe!erishly in his $ale
face, his !oice !icious, $oisonous, as he s$oke.
"(ere you too busy chasing some other girl
through the bushes. +r just too uninterested to
interfere."
6amon said nothing. 8e was just as $ale as
his brother, e!ery muscle tense and rigid. (a!es
of black fury were rising from him as he
watched 'tefan.
"+r maybe you enjoyed it," 'tefan was
continuing, mo!ing another half ste$ forward so
that he was right in 6amon's face. "/es, that was
$robably it) you liked it, being with another
killer. (as it good, 6amon. 6id he let you
watch."
6amon's fist jerked back and he hit 'tefan.
&t ha$$ened too fast for Bonnie's eye to
follow. 'tefan fell backward onto the soft
ground, long legs s$rawling. %eredith cried out
something, and %att jum$ed in front of 6amon.
Bra!e, Bonnie thought dazedly, but stu$id.
The air was crackling with electricity. 'tefan
raised a hand to his mouth and found blood,
black in the moonlight. Bonnie lurched o!er to
his side and grabbed his arm.
6amon was coming after him again. %att fell
back before him, but not all the way. 8e dro$$ed
to his knees beside 'tefan, sitting on his heels,
one hand u$raised.
""nough, you guys4 "nough, all right." he
shouted.
'tefan was trying to get u$. Bonnie held on to
his arm more firmly. "o4 'tefan, don't4 6on't4"
she begged. %eredith grabbed his other arm.
"6amon, lea!e it alone4 =ust lea!e it4" %att
was saying shar$ly.
(e're all crazy, getting in the middle of this,
Bonnie thought. Trying to break u$ a fight
between two angry !am$ires. They're going to
kill us just to shut us u$. 6amon's going to swat
%att like a fly.
But 6amon had sto$$ed, with %att blocking
his way. 1or a long moment the scene remained
frozen, nobody mo!ing, e!erybody rigid with
strain. Then, slowly, 6amon's stance rela-ed.
8is hands lowered and unclenched. 8e drew a
slow breath. Bonnie realized she'd been holding
her own breath, and she let it out.
6amon's face was cold as a statue car!ed in
ice. "#ll right, ha!e it your way," he said, and
his !oice was cold too. "But &'m through here.
&'m lea!ing. #nd this time, brother, if you follow
me, &'ll kill you. <romise or no $romise."
"& won't follow you," 'tefan said from where
he sat. 8is !oice sounded as if he'd been
swallowing ground glass.
6amon hitched u$ his jacket, straightening it.
(ith a glance at Bonnie that scarcely seemed to
see her, he turned to go. Then he turned back and
s$oke clearly and $recisely, each word an arrow
aimed at 'tefan.
"& warned you," he said. "#bout what & am,
and about which side would win. /ou should
ha!e listened to me, little brother. %aybe you'll
learn something from tonight."
"&'!e learned what trusting you is worth,"
'tefan said. "3et out of here, 6amon. & ne!er
want to see you again."
(ithout another word, 6amon turned and
walked away into the darkness.
Bonnie let go of 'tefan's arm and $ut her head
in her hands.
'tefan got u$, shaking himself like a cat that
had been held against its will. 8e walked a little
distance from the others, his face a!erted from
them. Then he sim$ly stood there. The rage
seemed to ha!e left him as quickly as it had
come.
(hat do we say now. Bonnie wondered,
looking u$. (hat can we say. 'tefan was right
about one thing2 they had warned him about
6amon and he hadn't listened. 8e'd truly seemed
to belie!e that his brother could be trusted. #nd
then they'd all gotten careless, relying on 6amon
because it was easy and because they needed the
hel$. o one had argued against letting 6amon
watch 0ickie tonight.
They were all to blame. But it was 'tefan who
would tear himself a$art with guilt o!er this. 'he
knew that was behind his out5of5control fury at
6amon2 his own shame and remorse. 'he
wondered if 6amon knew that, or cared. #nd she
wondered what had really ha$$ened tonight.
ow that 6amon had left, they would $robably
ne!er know.
o matter what, she thought, it was better he
was gone.
+utside noises were reasserting themsel!es2
cars being started in the street, the short burst of
a siren, doors slamming. They were safe in the
little gro!e of trees for the moment, but they
couldn't stay here.
%eredith had one hand $ressed to her
forehead, her eyes shut. Bonnie looked from her
to 'tefan, to the lights of 0ickie's silent home
beyond the trees. # wa!e of sheer e-haustion
$assed through her body. #ll the adrenaline that
had been su$$orting her throughout this e!ening
seemed to ha!e drained away. 'he didn't e!en
feel angry anymore at 0ickie's death) only
de$ressed and sick and !ery, !ery tired. 'he
wished she could crawl into her bed at home
and. $ull the blankets o!er her head.
"Tyler," she said aloud. #nd when they all
turned to look at her, she said, "(e left him in
the ruined church. #nd he's our last ho$e now.
(e'!e got to make him hel$ us."
That roused e!eryone. 'tefan turned around
silently, not s$eaking and not meeting anyone's
eyes as he followed them back to the street. The
$olice cars and ambulance were gone, and they
dro!e to the cemetery without incident.
But when they reached the ruined church,
Tyler wasn't there.
"(e left his feet untied," %att said hea!ily,
with a grimace of self5disgust. "8e must ha!e
walked away since his car's still down there." +r
he could ha!e been taken, Bonnie thought. There
was no mark on the stone floor to show which.
%eredith went to the knee5high wall and sat
down, one hand $inching the bridge of her nose.
Bonnie sagged against the belfry.
They'd failed com$letely. That was the long
and short of it tonight. They'd lost and he had
won. "!erything they'd done today had ended in
defeat.
#nd 'tefan, she could tell, was taking the
whole res$onsibility on his own shoulders.
'he glanced at the dark, bowed head in the
front seat as they dro!e back to the boarding
house. #nother thought occurred to her, one that
sent thrills of alarm down her ner!es. 'tefan was
all they had to $rotect them now that 6amon
was gone. #nd if 'tefan himself was weak and
e-hausted9
Bonnie bit her li$ as %eredith $ulled u$ to the
barn. #n idea was forming in her mind. &t made
her uneasy, e!en frightened, but another look at
'tefan $ut steel in her resol!e.
The 1errari was still $arked behind the barn*
a$$arently 6amon had abandoned it. Bonnie
wondered how he $lanned to get about the
countryside, and then thought of wings. 0el!ety
soft, strong black crow's wings that reflected
rainbows in their feathers. 6amon didn't need a
car.
They went into the boarding house just long
enough for Bonnie to call her $arents and say
she was s$ending the night at %eredith's. This
was her idea. But after 'tefan had climbed the
stairs to his attic room, Bonnie sto$$ed %att on
the front $orch.
"%att. Can & ask you a fa!or."
8e swung around, blue eyes widening. "That's
a loaded $hrase. "!ery time "lena said those
$articular words9"
"o, no, this is nothing terrible. & just want
you to take care of %eredith, see she's okay once
she gets home and all." 'he gestured toward the
other girl, who was already walking toward the
car.
"But you're coming with us."
Bonnie glanced at the stairs through the o$en
door. "o. & think &'ll stay a few minutes. 'tefan
can dri!e me home. & just want to talk to him
about something."
%att looked bewildered. "Talk to him about
what."
"=ust something. & can't e-$lain now. (ill
you, %att."
"But9 oh, all right. &'m too tired to care. 6o
what you want. &'ll see you tomorrow." 8e
walked off, seeming baffled and a little angry.
Bonnie was baffled herself at his attitude.
(hy should he care, tired or not, if she talked to
'tefan. But there was no time to waste $uzzling
o!er it. 'he faced the stairs and, squaring her
shoulders, went u$ them.
The bulb in the attic ceiling lam$ was
missing, and 'tefan had lighted a candle. 8e was
lying ha$hazardly on the bed, one leg off and
one leg on, his eyes shut. %aybe aslee$. Bonnie
ti$toed u$ and fortified herself with a dee$
breath.
"'tefan."
8is eyes o$ened. "& thought you'd left."
"They did. & didn't." 3od, he's $ale, thought
Bonnie. &m$ulsi!ely, she $lunged right in.
"'tefan, &'!e been thinking. (ith 6amon
gone, you're the only thing between us and the
killer. That means you'!e got to be strong, as
strong as you can be. #nd, well, it occurred to
me that maybe9 you know9 you might
need9" 8er !oice faltered. Anconsciously she'd
begun fiddling with the wad of tissues forming a
makeshift bandage on her $alm. &t was still
bleeding sluggishly from where she'd cut it on
the glass.
8is gaze followed hers down to it. Then his
eyes lifted quickly to her face, reading the
confirmation there. There was a long moment of
silence.
Then he shook his head.
"But why. 'tefan, & don't want to get
$ersonal, but frankly you don't look so good.
/ou're not going to be much hel$ to anybody if
you colla$se on us. #nd9 & don't mind, if you
only take a little. & mean, &'m ne!er going to miss
it, right. #nd it can't hurt all that much. #nd9"
+nce again her !oice trailed off. 8e was just
looking at her, which was !ery disconcerting.
"(ell, why not-" she demanded, feeling slightly
let down.
"Because," he said softly, "& made a $romise.
%aybe not in so many words, but*a $romise
just the same. & won't take human blood as food,
because that means using a $erson, like
li!estock. #nd & won't e-change it with anyone,
because that means lo!e, and*" This time he
was the one who couldn't finish. But Bonnie
understood.
"There won't e!er be anyone else, will there."
she said.
"o. ot for me." 'tefan was so tired that his
control was sli$$ing and Bonnie could see
behind the mask. #nd again she saw that $ain
and need, so great that she had to look away
from him.
# strange little chill of $remonition and
dismay trickled through her heart. Before, she
had wondered if %att would e!er get o!er "lena,
and he had, it seemed. But 'tefan*
'tefan, she realized, the chill dee$ening, was
different. o matter how much time $assed, no
matter what he did, he would ne!er truly heal.
(ithout "lena he would always be half himself,
only half ali!e.
'he had to think of something, do something,
to $ush this awful feeling of dread away. 'tefan
needed "lena) he couldn't be whole without her.
Tonight he'd started to crack u$, swinging
between dangerously tight control and !iolent
rage. &f only he could see "lena for just a minute
and talk to her9
'he'd come u$ here to gi!e 'tefan a gift that
he didn't want. But there was something else he
did want, she realized, and only she had the
$ower to gi!e it to him.
(ithout looking at him, her !oice husky, she
said, "(ould you like to see "lena."
6ead silence from the bed. Bonnie sat,
watching the shadows in the room sway and
flicker. #t last, she chanced a look at him out of
the corner of her eye.
8e was breathing hard, eyes shut, body taut as
a bowstring. Trying, Bonnie diagnosed, to work
u$ the strength to resist tem$tation.
#nd losing. Bonnie saw that.
"lena always had been too much for him.
(hen his eyes met hers again, they were
grim, and his mouth was a tight line. 8is skin
wasn't $ale anymore but flushed with color. 8is
body was still trembling5taut and keyed u$ with
antici$ation.
"/ou might get hurt, Bonnie."
"& know."
"/ou'd be o$ening yourself u$ to forces
beyond your control. & can't guarantee that & can
$rotect you from them."
"& know. 8ow do you want to do it."
1iercely, he took her hand. "Thank you,
Bonnie," he whis$ered.
'he felt the blood rise to her face. "That's all
right," she said. 3ood grie!, he was gorgeous.
Those eyes9 in a minute she was either going
to jum$ him or melt into a $uddle on his bed.
(ith a $leasurably agonizing feeling of !irtue
she remo!ed her hand from his and turned to the
candle.
"8ow about if & go into a trance and try to
reach her, and then, once & make contact, try to
find you and draw you in. 6o you think that
would work."
"&t might, if &'m reaching for you too," he
said, withdrawing that intensity from her and
focusing it on the candle. "& can touch your
mind9 when you're ready, &'ll feel it."
"7ight." The candle was white, its wa- sides
smooth and shining. The flame drew itself u$
and then fell back. Bonnie stared until she
became lost in it, until the rest of the room
blacked out around her. There was only the
flame, herself and the flame. 'he was going into
the flame.
Anbearable brightness surrounded her. Then
she $assed through it into the dark.

The funeral home was cold. Bonnie glanced
around uneasily, wondering how she had gotten
here, trying to gather her thoughts. 'he was all
alone, and for some reason that bothered her.
(asn't somebody else su$$osed to be here too.
'he was looking for someone.
There was light in the ne-t room. Bonnie
mo!ed toward it and her heart began $ounding.
&t was a !isitation room, and it was filled with
tall candelabras, the white candles glimmering
and qui!ering. &n the midst of them was a white
coffin with an o$en lid.
'te$ by ste$, as if something were $ulling her,
Bonnie a$$roached the casket. 'he didn't want
to look in. 'he had to. There was something in
that coffin waiting for her.
The whole room was suffused with the soft
white light of the candles. &t was like floating in
an island of radiance. But she didn't want to
look9
%o!ing as if in slow motion, she reached the
coffin, stared at the white satin lining inside. &t
was em$ty.
Bonnie closed it and leaned against it,
sighing.
Then she caught motion in her $eri$heral
!ision and whirled.
&t was "lena.
"+h, 3od, you scared me," Bonnie said.
"& thought & told you not to come here," "lena
answered.
This time her hair was loose, flowing o!er her
shoulders and down her back, the $ale golden
white of a flame. 'he was wearing a thin white
dress that glowed softly in the candlelight. 'he
looked like a candle herself, luminous, radiant.
8er feet were bare.
"& came here to9" Bonnie floundered, some
conce$t teasing around the edges of her mind.
This was her dream, her trance. 'he had to
remember. "& came here to let you see 'tefan,"
she said.
"lena's eyes widened, her li$s $arting. Bonnie
recognized the look of yearning, of almost
irresistible longing. ot fifteen minutes ago
she'd seen it on 'tefan's face.
"+h," "lena whis$ered. 'he swallowed, her
eyes clouding. "+h, Bonnie9 but & can't."
"(hy not."
Tears were shining in "lena's eyes now, and
her li$s were trembling. "(hat if things start to
change. (hat if he comes, and9" 'he $ut a
hand to her mouth and Bonnie remembered the
last dream, with teeth falling like rain. Bonnie
met "lena's eyes with understanding horror.
"6on't you see. & couldn't stand it if
something like that ha$$ened," "lena whis$ered.
"&f he saw me like that9 #nd & can't control
things here) &'m not strong enough. Bonnie,
$lease don't let him through. Tell him how sorry
& am. Tell him*" 'he shut her eyes, tears
s$illing.
"#ll right." Bonnie felt as if she might cry
too, but "lena was right. 'he reached for
'tefan's mind to e-$lain to him, to hel$ him bear
the disa$$ointment. But the instant she touched
it she knew she'd made a mistake.
"'tefan, no4 "lena says*" &t didn't matter.
8is mind was stronger than hers, and the instant
she'd made contact he had taken o!er. 8e'd
sensed the gist of her con!ersation with "lena,
but he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
8el$lessly, Bonnie felt herself being o!erridden,
felt his mind come closer, closer to the circle of
light formed by the candelabras. 'he felt his
$resence there, felt it taking sha$e. 'he turned
and saw him, dark hair, tense face, green eyes
fierce as a falcon's. #nd then, knowing there was
nothing more she could do, she ste$$ed back to
allow them to be alone.
Twelve
'tefan heard a !oice whis$er, soft with $ain,
"+h, no."
# !oice that he'd ne!er thought to hear again,
that he would ne!er forget. 7i$$les of chills
$oured o!er his skin, and he could feel a shaking
start inside him. 8e turned toward the !oice, his
attention fi-ing instantly, his mind almost
shutting down because it couldn't co$e with so
many sudden dri!ing emotions at once.
8is eyes were blurred and could only discern
a wash of radiance like a thousand candles. But
it didn't matter. 8e could !eel her there. The
same $resence he had sensed the !ery first day
he'd come to 1ell's Church, a golden white light
that shone into his consciousness. 1ull of cool
beauty and searing $assion and !ibrant life.
6emanding that he mo!e toward it, that he
forget e!erything else.
"lena. &t was really "lena.
8er $resence $er!aded him, filling him to his
fingerti$s. #ll his hungry senses were fi-ed on
that wash of luminance, searching for her.
eeding her.
Then she ste$$ed out.
'he mo!ed slowly, hesitantly. #s if she could
barely make herself do it. 'tefan was caught in
the same $aralysis.
"lena.
8e saw her e!ery feature as if for the first
time. The $ale gold hair floating about her face
and shoulders like a halo. The fair, flawless skin.
The slender, su$$le body just now canted away
from him, one hand raised in $rotest.
"'tefan," the whis$er came, and it was her
!oice. 8er !oice saying his name. But there was
such $ain in it that he wanted to run to her, hold
her, $romise her that e!erything would be all
right. "'tefan, $lease9 & can't9"
8e could see her eyes now. The dark blue of
la$is lazuli, flecked in this light with gold. (ide
with $ain and wet with unshed tears. &t shredded
his guts.
"/ou don't want to see me." 8is !oice was
dry as dust.
"& don't want you to see me. +h, 'tefan, he
can make anything ha$$en. #nd he'll find us.
8e'll come here9"
7elief and aching joy flooded through 'tefan.
8e could scarcely concentrate on her words, and
it didn't matter. The way she said his name was
enough. That "+h, 'tefan" told him e!erything
he cared about.
8e mo!ed toward her quietly, his own hand
coming u$ to reach for hers. 8e saw the
$rotesting shake of her head, saw that her li$s
were $arted with her quickening breath. A$
close, her skin had an inner glow, like a flame
shining through translucent candle wa-. 6ro$lets
of wetness were caught on her eyelashes like
diamonds.
#lthough she ke$t shaking her head, ke$t
$rotesting, she did not mo!e her hand away. ot
e!en when his outs$read fingers touched it,
$ressing against her cool fingerti$s as if they
were on o$$osite sides of a $ane of glass.
#nd at this distance her eyes could not e!ade
his. They were looking at each other, looking
and not turning aside. Antil at last she sto$$ed
whis$ering "'tefan, no" and only whis$ered his
name.
8e couldn't think. 8is heart was threatening
to come through his chest. othing mattered
e-ce$t that she was here, that they were here
together. 8e didn't notice the strange
surroundings, didn't care who might be
watching.
'lowly, so slowly, he closed his hand around
hers, intertwining their fingers, the way they
were meant to be. 8is other hand lifted to her
face.
8er eyes closed at the touch, her cheek
leaning into it. 8e felt the moisture on his
fingers and a laugh caught in his throat. 6ream
tears. But they were real, she was real. "lena.
'weetness $ierced him. # $leasure so shar$ it
was a $ain, just to stroke the tears away from her
face with his thumb.
#ll the frustrated tenderness of the last si-
months, all the emotion he'd ke$t locked in his
heart that long, came cascading out, submerging
him. 6rowning both of them. &t took such a little
mo!ement and then he was holding her.
#n angel in his arms, cool and thrilling with
life and beauty. # being of flame and air. 'he
shi!ered in his embrace) then, eyes still shut, $ut
u$ her li$s.
There was nothing cool about the kiss. &t
struck s$arks from 'tefan's ner!es, melting and
dissol!ing e!erything around it. 8e felt his
control unra!eling, the control he'd worked so
hard to $reser!e since he'd lost her. "!erything
inside him was being jarred loose, all knots
untied, all floodgates o$ened. 8e could feel his
own tears as he held her to him, trying to fuse
them into one flesh, one body. 'o that nothing
could e!er se$arate them again.
They were both crying without breaking the
kiss. "lena's slender arms were around his neck
now, e!ery inch of her fitting to him as if she
had ne!er belonged anywhere else. 8e could
taste the salt of her tears on his li$s and it
drenched him with sweetness.
8e knew, !aguely, that there was something
else he should be thinking about. But the first
electric touch of her cool skin had dri!en reason
from his mind. They were in the center of a
whirlwind of fire) the uni!erse could e-$lode or
crumble or burn to ashes for all he cared, as long
as he could kee$ her safe.
But "lena was trembling.
ot just from emotion, from the intensity that
was making him dizzy and drunk with $leasure.
1rom fear. 8e could feel it in her mind and he
wanted to $rotect her, to shield her and to
cherish her and to kill anything that dared
frighten her. (ith something like a snarl he
raised his face to look around.
"(hat is it." he said, hearing the $redator's
ras$ in his own !oice. "#nything that tries to
hurt you*"
"othing can hurt me." 'he still clung to him,
but she leaned back to look into his face. "&'m
afraid for you, 'tefan, for what he might do to
you. #nd for what he might make you see9"
8er !oice qua!ered. "+h, 'tefan, go now, before
he comes. 8e can find you through me. <lease,
$lease, go9"
"#sk me anything else and &'ll do it," 'tefan
said. The killer would ha!e to shred him ner!e
from ner!e, muscle from muscle, cell from cell
to make him lea!e her.
"'tefan, it's only a dream," "lena said
des$erately, new tears falling. "(e can't really
touch, we can't be together. &t's not allowed."
'tefan didn't care. &t didn't seem like a dream.
&t felt real. #nd e!en in a dream he was not
going to gi!e u$ "lena, not for anyone. o force
in hea!en or hell could make him9
"(rong, s$ort. 'ur$rise4" said a new !oice, a
!oice 'tefan had ne!er heard. 8e recognized it
instincti!ely, though, as the !oice of a killer. #
hunter among hunters. #nd when he turned, he
remembered what 0ickie, $oor 0ickie, had said.
.e looks like the devil.
&f the de!il was handsome and blond.
8e wore a threadbare raincoat, as 0ickie had
described. 6irty and tattered. 8e looked like any
street $erson from any big city, e-ce$t that he
was so tall and his eyes were so clear and
$enetrating. "lectric blue, like razor5frosted sky.
8is hair was almost white, standing straight u$
as if blown by a blast of chilly wind. 8is wide
smile made 'tefan feel sick.
"'al!atore, & $resume," he said, scra$ing a
bow. "#nd of course the beautiful "lena. The
beautiful dead "lena. Come to join her, 'tefan.
/ou two were just meant to be together."
8e looked young, older than 'tefan, but still
young. 8e wasn't.
"'tefan, lea!e now," "lena whis$ered. "8e
can't hurt me, but you're different. 8e can make
something ha$$en that will follow you out of the
dream."
'tefan's arm stayed locked around her.
"Bra!o4" the man in the raincoat a$$lauded,
looking around as if to encourage an in!isible
audience. 8e staggered slightly, and if he'd been
human, 'tefan would ha!e thought he was
drunk.
"'tefan, #lease," "lena whis$ered.
"&t would be rude to lea!e before we'!e e!en
been $ro$erly introduced," the blond man said.
8ands in coat $ockets, he strode a ste$ or two
closer. "6on't you want to know who & am."
"lena shook her head, not in negation but in
defeat, and dro$$ed it to 'tefan's shoulder. 8e
cu$$ed a hand around her hair, wanting to shield
e!ery $art of her from this madman.
"& want to know," he said, looking at the
blond man o!er her head.
"& don't see why you didn't ask me in the first
$lace," the man re$lied, scratching his cheek
with his middle finger. "&nstead of going to
e!erybody else. I'm the only one who can tell
you. &'!e been around a long time."
"8ow long." said 'tefan, unim$ressed.
"# long time9" The blond man's gaze turned
dreamy, as if looking back o!er the years. "& was
tearing $retty white throats when your ancestors
were building the Colosseum. & killed with
#le-ander's army. & fought in the Trojan (ar. &'m
old, 'al!atore. &'m one of the +riginals. &n my
earliest memories & carried a bronze a-."
'lowly, 'tefan nodded.
8e'd heard of the +ld +nes. They were
whis$ered about among !am$ires, but no one
'tefan had e!er known had actually met one.
"!ery !am$ire was made by another !am$ire,
changed by the e-change of blood. But
somewhere, back in time, had been the
+riginals, the ones who hadn't been made. They
were where the line of continuity sto$$ed. o
one knew how they'd gotten to be !am$ires
themsel!es. But their <owers were legendary.
"& hel$ed bring the 7oman "m$ire down," the
blond man continued dreamily. "They called us
barbarians*they just didn't understand4 (ar,
'al!atore4 There's nothing like it. "uro$e was
e-citing then. & decided to stick around the
countryside and enjoy myself. 'trange, you
know, $eo$le ne!er really seemed comfortable
around me. They used to run or hold u$ crosses."
8e shook his head. "But one woman came and
asked my hel$. 'he was a maid in a baron's
household, and her little mistress was sick.
6ying, she said. 'he wanted me to do something
about it. #nd so9" The smile returned and
broadened, getting wider and im$ossibly wider,
"& did. 'he was a $retty little thing."
'tefan had turned his body to hold "lena
away from the blond man, and now, for a
moment, he turned his head away too. 8e should
ha!e known, should ha!e guessed. #nd so it all
came back to him. 0ickie's death, and 'ue's,
were ultimately to be laid at his door. 8e had
started the chain of e!ents that ended here.
":atherine," he said, lifting his head to look at
the man. "/ou're the !am$ire who changed
:atherine."
"To save her li!e," the blond man said, as if
'tefan were stu$id at learning a lesson. "(hich
your little sweetheart here took."
# name. 'tefan was searching for a name in
his mind, knowing that :atherine had told it to
him, just as she must ha!e described this man to
him once. 8e could hear :atherine's words in
his mind2 I woke in the middle o! the night and I
saw the man that )udren, my maid, had
brought. I was !rightened. .is name was <laus
and I'd heard the #eo#le in the village say he
was evil 9
":laus," the blond man said mildly, as if
agreeing with something. "That was what she
called me, anyway. 'he came back to me after
two little &talian boys jilted her. 'he'd done
e!erything for them, changed them into
!am$ires, gi!en them eternal life, but they were
ungrateful and threw her out. 0ery strange."
"That isn't how it ha$$ened," 'tefan said
through his teeth.
"(hat was e!en stranger was that she ne!er
got o!er you, 'al!atore. /ou es$ecially. 'he was
always drawing unflattering com$arisons
between us. & tried to beat some sense into her,
but it ne!er really worked. %aybe & should ha!e
just killed her myself, & don't know. But by then
&'d gotten used to ha!ing her around. 'he ne!er
was the brightest. But she was good to look at,
and she knew how to ha!e fun. & showed her
that, how to enjoy the killing. "!entually her
brain turned a little, but so what. &t wasn't her
brains & was kee$ing her for."
There was no longer any !estige of lo!e for
:atherine in 'tefan's heart, but he found he
could still hate the man who had made her what
she was in the end.
"%e. %e, s$ort." :laus $ointed to his own
chest in unbelief. "&ou made :atherine into what
she is right now, or rather your little girlfriend
did. 7ight now, she's dust. (orm's meat. But
your sweetie is just slightly beyond my reach at
$resent. 0ibrating on a higher $lane, isn't that
what the mystics say, "lena. (hy don't you
!ibrate down here with the rest of us."
"&f only & could," whis$ered "lena, lifting her
head and looking at him with hatred.
"+h, well. %eanwhile &'!e got your friends.
'ue was such a sweet girl, & hear." 8e licked his
li$s. "#nd 0ickie was delectable. 6elicate but
full bodied, with a nice bouquet. %ore like a
nineteen5year5old than se!enteen."
'tefan lunged one ste$ forward, but "lena
caught him. "'tefan, don't4 This is his territory,
and his mental $owers are stronger than ours. 8e
controls it."
"<recisely. This is my territory. Anreality."
:laus grinned his staring $sychotic grin again.
"(here your wildest nightmares come true, free
of charge. 1or instance," he said, looking at
'tefan, "how'd you like to see what your
sweetheart really looks like right now. (ithout
her makeu$."
"lena made a soft sound, almost a moan.
'tefan held her tighter.
"&t's been how long since she died. #bout si-
months. 6o you know what ha$$ens to a body
once it's been in the ground si- months." :laus
licked his li$s again, like a dog.
ow 'tefan understood. "lena shi!ered, head
bent, and tried to mo!e away from him, but he
locked his arms around her.
"&t's all right," he said to her softly. #nd to
:laus2 "/ou're forgetting yourself. &'m not a
human who jum$s at shadows and the sight of
blood. & know about death, :laus. &t doesn't
frighten me."
"o, but does it thrill you." :laus's !oice
dro$$ed, low, into-icating. "&sn't it e-citing, the
stench, the rot, the fluids of decom$osing flesh.
&sn't it a kick-"
"'tefan, let me go. 'lease." "lena was
shaking, $ushing at him with her hands, all the
time kee$ing her head twisted away so he
couldn't see her face. 8er !oice sounded close to
tears. "'lease."
"The only <ower you ha!e here is the $ower
of illusion," 'tefan said to :laus. 8e held "lena
to him, cheek $ressed to her hair. 8e could feel
the changes in the body he embraced. The hair
under his cheek seemed to coarsen and "lena's
form to shrink on itself.
"&n certain soils the skin can tan like leather,"
:laus assured him, bright eyed, grinning.
"'tefan, & don't want you to look at me*"
"yes on :laus, 'tefan gently $ushed the
coarsened white hair away and stroked the side
of "lena's face, ignoring the roughness against
his fingerti$s.
"But of course most of the time it just
decom$oses. (hat a way to go. /ou lose
e!erything, skin, flesh, muscles, internal organs
*all back into the ground9"
The body in 'tefan's arms was dwindling. 8e
shut his eyes and held tighter, hatred for :laus
burning inside him. #n illusion, it was all an
illusion9
"'tefan9" &t was a dry whis$er, faint as the
scratch of $a$er blown down a sidewalk. &t hung
on the air a minute and then !anished, and
'tefan found himself holding a $ile of bones.
"#nd finally it ends u$ like that, in o!er two
hundred se$arate, easy5to5assemble $ieces.
Comes with its own handy5dandy carrying
case9" +n the far side of the circle of light
there was a creaking sound. The white coffin
there was o$ening by itself, the lid lifting. "(hy
don't you do the honors, 'al!atore. 3o $ut "lena
where she belongs."
'tefan had dro$$ed to his knees, shaking,
looking at the slender white bones in his hands.
&t was all an illusion*:laus was merely
controlling Bonnie's trance and showing 'tefan
what he wanted 'tefan to see. 8e hadn't really
hurt "lena, but the hot, $rotecti!e fury inside
'tefan wouldn't recognize that. Carefully, 'tefan
laid the fragile bones on the ground and touched
them once, gently. Then he looked u$ at :laus,
li$s curled with contem$t.
"+hat is not "lena," he said.
"+f course it is. &'d recognize her anywhere."
:laus s$read his hands and declaimed, " 'I knew
a woman, lovely in her bones=' "
"o." 'weat was beading on 'tefan's
forehead. 8e shut out :laus's !oice and
concentrated, fists clenched, muscles cracking
with effort. &t was like $ushing a boulder u$hill,
fighting :laus's influence. But where they lay,
the delicate bones began trembling, and a faint
golden light shone around them.
'' 'A rag and a bone and a hank o! hair= the
!ool he called them his lady !air=' "
The light was shimmering, dancing, linking
the bones together. (arm and golden it folded
about them, clothing them as they rose in the air.
(hat stood there now was a featureless form of
soft radiance. 'weat ran into 'tefan's eyes and
he felt as if his lungs would burst.
" 'Clay lies still, but blood's a rover=' "
"lena's hair, long and silky gold, arranged
itself o!er glowing shoulders. "lena's features,
blurred at first and then clearly focused, formed
on the face. ,o!ingly, 'tefan reconstructed e!ery
detail. Thick lashes, small nose, $arted li$s like
rose $etals. (hite light swirled around the
figure, creating a thin gown.
" 'And the crack in the teacu# o#ens a lane to
the land o! the dead . . .' "
"o." 6izziness swe$t o!er 'tefan as he felt
the last surge of <ower sigh out of him. # breath
lifted the figure's breast, and eyes blue as la$is
lazuli o$ened.
"lena smiled, and he felt the blaze of her lo!e
arc to meet him. "'tefan." 8er head was high,
$roud as any queen's.
'tefan turned to :laus, who had sto$$ed
s$eaking and was glaring mutely.
"This," 'tefan said distinctly, "is "lena. ot
whate!er em$ty shell she's left behind in the
ground. This is "lena, and nothing you do can
e!er touch her."
8e held out his hand, and "lena took it and
ste$$ed to him. (hen they touched, he felt a
jolt, and then felt her <owers flowing into him,
sustaining him. They stood together, side by
side, facing the blond man. 'tefan had ne!er felt
as fiercely !ictorious in his life, or as strong.
:laus stared at them for $erha$s twenty
seconds and then went berserk.
8is face twisted in loathing. 'tefan could feel
wa!es of malignant <ower battering against him
and "lena, and he used all his strength to resist
it. The maelstrom of dark fury was trying to tear
them a$art, howling through the room,
destroying e!erything in its $ath. Candles
snuffed out and flew into the air as if caught in a
tornado. The dream was breaking u$ around
them, shattering.
'tefan clung to "lena's other hand. The wind
blew her hair, whi$$ing it around her face.
"'tefan4" 'he was shouting, trying to make
herself heard. Then he heard her !oice in his
mind. ""te!an, listen to me* +here is one thing
you can do to sto# him. &ou need a victim,
"te!an*!ind one o! his victims. (nly a victim
will know*"
The noise le!el was unbearable, as if the !ery
fabric of s$ace and time was tearing. 'tefan felt
"lena's hands ri$$ed from his. (ith a cry of
des$eration, he reached out for her again, but he
could feel nothing. 8e was already drained by
the effort of fighting :laus, and he couldn't hold
on to consciousness. The darkness took him
s$inning down with it.

Bonnie had seen e!erything.
&t was strange, but once she ste$$ed aside to
let 'tefan go to "lena, she seemed to lose
$hysical $resence in the dream. &t was as if she
were no longer a $layer but the stage the action
was being $layed u$on. 'he could watch, but she
couldn't do anything else.
&n the end, she'd been afraid. 'he wasn't
strong enough to hold the dream together, and
the whole thing finally e-$loded, throwing her
out of the trance, back into 'tefan's room.
8e was lying on the floor and he looked dead.
'o white, so still. But when Bonnie tugged at
him, trying to get him on the bed, his chest
hea!ed and she heard him suck in a gas$ing
breath.
"'tefan. #re you okay."
8e looked wildly around the room as if trying
to find something. ""lena4" he said, and then he
sto$$ed, memory clearly returning.
8is face twisted. 1or one dreadful instant
Bonnie thought he was going to cry, but he only
shut his eyes and dro$$ed his head into his
hands.
"'tefan."
"& lost her. & couldn't hold on."
"& know." Bonnie watched him a moment,
then, gathering her courage, knelt in front of
him, touching his shoulders. "&'m sorry."
8is head lifted abru$tly, his green eyes dry
but so dilated they looked black. 8is nostrils
were flared, his li$s drawn back from his teeth.
":laus4" 8e s$at the name as if it were a
curse. "6id you see him."
"/es," Bonnie said, $ulling back. 'he gul$ed,
her stomach churning. "8e's crazy, isn't he,
'tefan."
"/es." 'tefan got u$. "#nd he must be
sto$$ed."
"But how." 'ince seeing :laus, Bonnie was
more frightened than e!er, more frightened and
less confident. "(hat could sto$ him, 'tefan.
&'!e ne!er felt anything like that <ower."
"But didn't you*." 'tefan turned to her
quickly. "Bonnie, didn't you hear what "lena
said at the end."
"o. (hat do you mean. & couldn't hear
anything) there was a slight hurricane going on
at the time."
"Bonnie9" 'tefan's eyes went distant with
s$eculation and he s$oke as if to himself. "That
means that he $robably didn't hear it either. 'o
he doesn't know, and he won't try to sto$ us."
"1rom what. 'tefan, what are you talking
about."
"1rom finding a !ictim. ,isten, Bonnie, "lena
told me that if we can find a sur!i!ing !ictim of
:laus's, we can find a way to sto$ him."
Bonnie was in com$letely o!er her head.
"But9 why."
"Because !am$ires and their donors*their
$rey*share minds briefly while the blood is
being e-changed. 'ometimes the donor can learn
things about the !am$ire that way. ot always,
but occasionally. That's what must ha!e
ha$$ened, and "lena knows it."
"That's all !ery well and good*e-ce$t for
one small thing," Bonnie said tartly. "(ill you
$lease tell me who on earth could ha!e sur!i!ed
an attack by :laus."
'he e-$ected 'tefan to be deflated, but he
wasn't. "# !am$ire," he said sim$ly. "# human
:laus made into a !am$ire would qualify as a
!ictim. #s long as they'!e e-changed blood,
they'!e touched minds."
"+h. +h. 'o9 if we can find a !am$ire he's
made9 but where-"
"%aybe in "uro$e." 'tefan began to $ace
around the room, his eyes narrowed. ":laus has
a long history, and some of his !am$ires are
bound to be there. & may ha!e to go and look for
one."
Bonnie was utterly dismayed. "But 'tefan,
you can't lea!e us. /ou can't4"
'tefan sto$$ed where he was, across the
room, and stood !ery still. Then at last, he turned
to face her. "& don't want to," he said quietly.
"#nd we'll try to think of another solution first*
maybe we can get hold of Tyler again. &'ll wait a
week, until ne-t 'aturday. But & may ha!e to
lea!e, Bonnie. /ou know that as well as & do."
There was a long, long silence between them.
Bonnie fought the heat in her eyes,
determined to be grown u$ and mature. 'he
wasn't a baby and she would $ro!e that now,
once and for all. 'he caught 'tefan's gaze and
slowly nodded.
Thirteen
/une 1>, ?riday, 112@3 '.M. ,ear ,iary,
(h, )od, what are we going to do-
+his has been the longest week o! my li!e.
+oday was the last day o! school and tomorrow
"te!an is leaving. .e's going to uro#e to search
!or a vam#ire who got changed by <laus. .e
says he doesn't want to leave us un#rotected.
But he's going to go.
$e can't !ind +yler. .is car disa##eared !rom
the cemetery, but he hasn't turned u# at school.
.e's missed every !inal this week. %ot that the
rest o! us are doing much better. I wish Aobert
. :ee was like the schools that have all their
!inals be!ore graduation. I don't know whether
I'm writing nglish or "wahili these days.
I hate <laus. ?rom what I saw he's as craBy
as <atherine*and even crueler. $hat he did to
Vickie*but I can't even talk about that or I'll
start crying again. .e was 6ust #laying with us
at Caroline's #arty, like a cat with a mouse. And
to do it on Meredith's birthday, too*although I
su##ose he couldn't have known that. .e seems
to know a lot, though. .e doesn't talk like a
!oreigner, not like "te!an did when he !irst came
to America, and he knows all about American
things, even songs !rom the !i!ties. Maybe he's
been over here !or a while9

Bonnie sto$$ed writing. 'he thought
des$erately. #ll this time, they had been thinking
of !ictims in "uro$e, of !am$ires. But from the
way :laus talked, he had ob!iously been in
#merica a long time. 8e didn't sound foreign at
all. #nd he'd chosen to attack the girls on
%eredith's birthday9
Bonnie got u$, reached for the tele$hone, and
called %eredith's number. # slee$y male !oice
answered.
"%r. 'ulez, this is Bonnie. Can & s$eak to
%eredith."
"Bonnie4 6on't you know what time it is."
"/es." Bonnie thought quickly. "But it's about
*about a final we had today. <lease, & ha!e to
talk with her."
There was a long $ause, then a hea!y sigh.
"=ust a minute."
Bonnie ta$$ed her fingers im$atiently as she
waited. #t last there was the click of another
$hone being $icked u$.
"Bonnie." came %eredith's !oice. "(hat's
wrong."
"othing. & mean*" Bonnie was
e-cruciatingly conscious of the o$en line, of the
fact that %eredith's father hadn't hung u$. 8e
might be listening. "&t's about*that 3erman
$roblem we'!e been working on. &ou remember.
The one we couldn't figure out for the final. /ou
know how we'!e been looking for the one
$erson who can hel$ us sol!e it. (ell, & think &
know who it is."
"/ou do." Bonnie could sense %eredith
scrambling for the right words. "(ell*who is
it. 6oes it in!ol!e any long5distance calls."
"o," Bonnie said, "it doesn't. &t hits a lot
closer to home, %eredith. # lot. &n fact, you
could say it's right in your own backyard,
hanging on your family tree."
The line was silent so long Bonnie wondered
if %eredith was still there. "%eredith."
"&'m thinking. 6oes this solution ha!e
anything to do with coincidence."
"o$e." Bonnie rela-ed and smiled slightly,
grimly. %eredith had it now. "ot a thing to do
with coincidence. &t's more a case of history
re$eating itself. 6eliberately re$eating itself, if
you see what & mean."
"/es," %eredith said. 'he sounded as if she
were reco!ering from a shock, and no wonder.
"/ou know, & think you just may be right. But
there's still the matter of $ersuading*this
$erson*to actually hel$ us."
"/ou think that may be a $roblem."
"& think it could. 'ometimes $eo$le get !ery
rattled*about a test. 'ometimes they e!en kind
of lose their minds."
Bonnie's heart sank. This was something that
hadn't occurred to her. (hat if he couldn't tell
them. (hat if he were that far gone.
"#ll we can do is try," she said, making her
!oice as o$timistic as $ossible. "Tomorrow we'll
ha!e to try."
"#ll right. &'ll $ick you u$ at noon. 3ood
night, Bonnie."
"ight, %eredith." Bonnie added, "&'m sorry."
"o, & think it may be for the best. 'o that
history doesn't continue to re$eat itself fore!er.
3ood5bye."
Bonnie $ressed the disconnect button on the
handset, clicking it off. Then she just sat for a
few minutes, her finger on the button, staring at
the wall. 1inally she re$laced the handset in its
cradle and $icked u$ her diary again. 'he $ut a
$eriod on the last sentence and added a new one.
$e are going to see Meredith's grand!ather
tomorrow.

"&'m an idiot," 'tefan said in %eredith's car
the ne-t day. They were going to (est 0irginia,
to the institution where %eredith's grandfather
was a $atient. &t was going to be a fairly long
dri!e.
"(e're all idiots. "-ce$t Bonnie," %att said.
"!en in the midst of her an-iety Bonnie felt a
warm glow at that.
But %eredith was shaking her head, eyes on
the road. "'tefan, you couldn't ha!e realized, so
sto$ beating u$ on yourself. /ou didn't know
that :laus attacked Caroline's $arty on the
anni!ersary of the attack on my grandfather. #nd
it didn't occur to %att or me that :laus could
ha!e been in #merica for so long because we
ne!er saw :laus or heard him s$eak. (e were
thinking of $eo$le he could ha!e attacked in
"uro$e. 7eally, Bonnie was the only one who
could ha!e $ut it all together, because she had all
the information."
Bonnie stuck out her tongue. %eredith caught
it in the rear!iew mirror and arched an eyebrow.
"=ust don't want you getting too cocky," she said.
"& won't) modesty is one of my most charming
qualities," Bonnie re$lied.
%att snorted, but then he said, "& still think it
was $retty smart," which started the glow all
o!er again.

The institution was a terrible $lace. Bonnie
tried as hard as she could to conceal her horror
and disgust, but she knew %eredith could sense
it. %eredith's shoulders were stiff with defensi!e
$ride as she walked down the halls in front of
them. Bonnie, who had known her for so many
years, could see the humiliation underneath that
$ride. %eredith's $arents considered her
grandfather's condition such a blot that they
ne!er allowed him to be mentioned to outsiders.
&t had been a shadow o!er the entire family.
#nd now %eredith was showing that secret to
strangers for the first time. Bonnie felt a rush of
lo!e and admiration for her friend. &t was so like
%eredith to do it without fuss, with dignity,
letting nobody see what it cost her. But the
institution was still terrible.
&t wasn't filthy or filled with ra!ing maniacs
or anything like that. The $atients looked clean
and well cared for. But there was something
about the sterile hos$ital smells and the halls
crowded with motionless wheelchairs and blank
eyes that made Bonnie want to run.
&t was like a building full of zombies. Bonnie
saw one old woman, her $ink scal$ showing
through thin white hair, slum$ed with her head
on the table ne-t to a naked $lastic doll. (hen
Bonnie reached out des$erately, she found %att's
hand already reaching for hers. They followed
%eredith that way, holding on so hard it hurt.
"This is his room."
&nside was another zombie, this one with
white hair that still showed an occasional fleck
of black like %eredith's. 8is face was a mass of
wrinkles and lines, the eyes rheumy and rimmed
with scarlet. They stared !acantly.
"3randdad," %eredith said, kneeling in front
of his wheelchair, "3randdad, it's me, %eredith.
&'!e come to !isit you. &'!e got something
im$ortant to ask you."
The old eyes ne!er flickered.
"'ometimes he knows us," %eredith said
quietly, without emotion. "But mostly these days
he doesn't."
The old man just went on staring.
'tefan dro$$ed to his heels. ",et me try," he
said. ,ooking into the wrinkled face he began to
s$eak, softly, soothingly, as he had to 0ickie.
But the filmy dark eyes didn't so much as
blink. They just went on staring aimlessly. The
only mo!ement was a slight, continuous tremor
in the knotted hands on the arms of the
wheelchair.
#nd no matter what %eredith or 'tefan did,
that was all the res$onse they could elicit.
"!entually Bonnie tried, using her $sychic
$owers. 'he could sense something in the old
man, some s$ark of life tra$$ed in the
im$risoning flesh. But she couldn't reach it.
"&'m sorry," she said, sitting back and $ushing
hair out of her eyes. "&t's no use. & can't do
anything."
"%aybe we can come another time," %att
said, but Bonnie knew it wasn't true. 'tefan was
lea!ing tomorrow) there would ne!er be another
time. #nd it had seemed like such a good idea9
The glow that had warmed her earlier was ashes
now, and her heart felt like a lum$ of lead. 'he
turned away to see 'tefan already starting out of
the room.
%att $ut a hand under her elbow to hel$ her
u$ and guide her out. #nd after standing for a
minute with her head bent in discouragement,
Bonnie let him. &t was hard to summon u$
enough energy to $ut one foot in front of the
other. 'he glanced back dully to see whether
%eredith was following*
#nd screamed. %eredith was standing in the
center of the room, facing the door,
discouragement written on her face. But behind
her, the figure in the wheelchair had stirred at
last. &n a silent e-$losion of mo!ement, it had
reared abo!e her, the rheumy old eyes o$en wide
and the mouth o$en wider. %eredith's
grandfather looked as if he had been caught in
the act of lea$ing*arms flung out, mouth
forming a silent howl. Bonnie's screams rang
from the rafters.
"!erything ha$$ened at once then. 'tefan
came charging back in, %eredith s$un around,
%att grabbed for her. But the old figure didn't
lea$. 8e stood towering abo!e all of them,
staring o!er their heads, seeming to see
something none of them could. 'ounds were
coming from his mouth at last, sounds that
formed one ululating word.
"0am$ire4 Vam#iire4"
#ttendants were in the room, crowding
Bonnie and the others away, restraining the old
man. Their shouts added to the $andemonium.
"Vam#ire* Vam#ire4" %eredith's grandfather
caterwauled, as if warning the town. Bonnie felt
$anicked*was he looking at 'tefan. (as it an
accusation.
"<lease, you'll ha!e to lea!e now. &'m sorry,
but you'll ha!e to go," a nurse was saying. They
were being whisked out. %eredith fought as she
was forced out into the hall.
"3randdaddy*4"
"Vam#ire4" that unearthly !oice wailed on.
#nd then2 "(hite ash wood4 0am$ire4 (hite
ash wood*"
The door slammed shut.
%eredith gas$ed, fighting tears. Bonnie had
her nails dug into %att's arm. 'tefan turned to
them, green eyes wide with shock.
"& said, you'll ha!e to lea!e now," the
harassed nurse was re$eating im$atiently. The
four of them ignored her. They were all looking
at each other, stunned confusion gi!ing way to
realization in their faces.
"Tyler said there was only one kind of wood
that could hurt him*" %att began.
"$hite ash wood," said 'tefan.

"(e'll ha!e to find out where he's hiding,"
'tefan said on the way home. 8e was dri!ing,
since %eredith had dro$$ed the keys at the car
door. "That's the first thing. &f we rush this, we
could warn him off."
8is green eyes were shining with a queer
mi-ture of trium$h and grim determination, and
he s$oke in a cli$$ed and ra$id !oice. They were
all on the ragged edge, Bonnie thought, as if
they'd been gul$ing u$$ers all night. Their
ner!es were frayed so thin that anything could
ha$$en.
'he had a sense, too, of im$ending cataclysm.
#s if e!erything were coming to a head, all the
e!ents since %eredith's birthday $arty gathering
to a conclusion.
Tonight, she thought. Tonight it all ha$$ens. &t
seemed strangely a$$ro$riate that it should be
the e!e of the solstice.
"The e!e of what." %att said.
'he hadn't e!en realized she'd s$oken aloud.
"The e!e of the solstice," she said. "That's what
today is. The day before the summer solstice."
"6on't tell me. 6ruids, right."
"They celebrated it," Bonnie confirmed. "&t's a
day for magic, for marking the change of the
seasons. #nd9" she hesitated. "(ell, it's like all
other feast days, like 8alloween or the winter
solstice. # day when the line between the !isible
world and the in!isible world is thin. (hen you
can see ghosts, they used to say. (hen things
ha$$en."
"Things," 'tefan said, turning onto the main
highway that headed back toward 1ell's Church,
"are going to ha$$en."
one of them realized how soon.

%rs. 1lowers was in the back garden. They
had dri!en straight to the boarding house to look
for her. 'he was $runing rosebushes, and the
smell of summer surrounded her.
'he frowned and blinked when they all
crowded around her and asked her in a rush
where to find a white ash tree.
"'low down, slow down now," she said,
$eering at them from under the brim of her straw
hat. "(hat is it you want. (hite ash. There's
one just down beyond those oak trees in back.
ow, wait a minute*" she added as they all
scrambled off again.
'tefan ringed a branch of the tree with a jack5
knife %att $roduced from his $ocket. & wonder
when he started carrying that. Bonnie thought.
'he also wondered what %rs. 1lowers thought
of them as they came back, the two boys
carrying the leafy si-5foot bough between them
on their shoulders.
But %rs. 1lowers just looked without saying
anything. #s they neared the house, though, she
called after them, "# $ackage came for you,
boy."
'tefan turned his head, the branch still on his
shoulder. "1or me."
"&t had your name on it. # $ackage and a
letter. & found them on the front $orch this
afternoon. & $ut them u$stairs in your room."
Bonnie looked at %eredith, then at %att and
'tefan, meeting their bewildered, sus$icious
gazes in turn. The antici$ation in the air
heightened suddenly, almost unbearably.
"But who could it be from. (ho could e!en
know you're here*" she began as they climbed
the stairs to the attic. #nd then she sto$$ed,
dread fluttering between her ribs. <remonition
was buzzing around inside her like a nagging fly,
but she $ushed it away. ot now, she thought,
not now.
But there was no way to kee$ from seeing the
$ackage on 'tefan's desk. The boys $ro$$ed the
white ash branch against the wall and went to
look at it, a longish, flattish $arcel wra$$ed in
brown $a$er, with a creamy en!elo$e on to$.
+n the front, in familiar crazy handwriting,
was scrawled "te!an.
The handwriting from the mirror.
They all stood staring down at the $ackage as
if it were a scor$ion.
"(atch out," %eredith said as 'tefan slowly
reached for it. Bonnie knew what she meant. 'he
felt as if the whole thing might e-$lode or belch
$oisonous gas or turn into something with teeth
and claws.
The en!elo$e 'tefan $icked u$ was square
and sturdy, made of good $a$er with a fine
finish. ,ike a $rince's in!itation to the ball,
Bonnie thought. But incongruously, there were
se!eral dirty finger$rints on the surface and the
edges were grimy. (ell*:laus hadn't looked
any too clean in the dream.
'tefan glanced at front and back and then tore
the en!elo$e o$en. 8e $ulled out a single $iece
of hea!y stationery. The other three crowded
around, looking o!er his shoulder as he unfolded
it. Then %att ga!e an e-clamation.
"(hat the9 it's blank4"
&t was. +n both sides. 'tefan turned it o!er
and e-amined each. 8is face was tense,
shuttered. "!eryone else rela-ed, though,
making noises of disgust. # stu$id $ractical joke.
%eredith had reached for the $ackage, which
looked flat enough to be em$ty as well, when
'tefan suddenly stiffened, his breath hissing in.
Bonnie glanced quickly o!er and jum$ed.
%eredith's hand froze on the $ackage, and %att
swore.
+n the blank $a$er, held tautly between
'tefan's two hands, letters were a$$earing. They
were black with long downstrokes, as if each
were being slashed by an in!isible knife while
Bonnie watched. #s she read them, the dread
inside her grew.

"te!an*
"hall we try to solve this like gentlemen- I
have the girl. Come to the old !armhouse in the
woods a!ter dark and we'll talk, 6ust the two o!
us. Come alone and I'll let her go. Bring anyone
else and she dies.
There was no signature, but at the bottom the
words a$$eared +his is between you and me.
"(hat girl." %att was demanding, looking
from Bonnie to %eredith as if to make sure they
were still there. "(hat girl."
(ith a shar$ motion, %eredith's elegant
fingers tore the $ackage o$en and $ulled out
what was inside. # $ale green scarf with a
$attern of !ines and lea!es. Bonnie remembered
it $erfectly, and a !ision came to her in a rush.
Confetti and birthday $resents, orchids and
chocolate.
"Caroline," she whis$ered, and shut her eyes.
These last two weeks had been so strange, so
different from ordinary high school life, that she
had almost forgotten Caroline e-isted. Caroline
had gone off to an a$artment in another town to
esca$e, to be safe*but %eredith had said it to
her in the beginning. .e can !ollow you to
.eron, I'm sure.
"8e was just $laying with us again," Bonnie
murmured. "8e let us get this far, e!en going to
see your grandfather, %eredith, and then9"
"8e must ha!e known," %eredith agreed. "8e
must ha!e known all along we were looking for
a !ictim. #nd now he's checkmated us. Anless
*" 8er dark eyes lit with sudden ho$e. "Bonnie,
you don't think Caroline could ha!e dro$$ed this
scarf the night of the $arty. #nd that he just
$icked it u$."
"o." The $remonition was buzzing closer
and Bonnie swatted at it, trying to kee$ it away.
'he didn't want it, didn't want to know. But she
felt certain of one thing2 this wasn't a bluff.
:laus had Caroline.
"(hat are we going to do." she said softly.
"& know what we're not going to do, and that's
listen to him," %att said. " 'Try to sol!e it like
gentlemen'*he's scum, not a gentleman. &t's a
tra$."
"+f course it's a tra$," %eredith said
im$atiently. "8e waited until we found out how
to hurt him and now he's trying to se$arate us.
But it won't work4"
Bonnie had been watching 'tefan's face with
growing dismay. Because while %att and
%eredith were indignantly talking, he had been
quietly folding u$ the letter and $utting it back
in its en!elo$e. ow he stood gazing down at it,
his face still, untouched by anything that was
going on around him. #nd the look in his green
eyes scared Bonnie.
"(e can make it backfire on him," %att was
saying. "7ight, 'tefan. 6on't you think."
"& think," said 'tefan carefully, concentrating
on each word, "that & am going out to the woods
after dark."
%att nodded, and like the quarterback he was,
began to chart out a $lan. "+kay, you go distract
him. #nd meanwhile, the three of us*"
"The three of you," 'tefan continued just as
deliberately, looking right at him, "are going
home. To bed."
There was a $ause that seemed endless to
Bonnie's taut ner!es. The others just stared at
'tefan.
#t last %eredith said lightly, "(ell, it's going
to be hard to catch him while we're in bed unless
he's kind enough to come !isiting."
That broke the tension and %att said, drawing
a long5suffering breath, "#ll right, 'tefan, &
understand how you feel about this*" But
'tefan interru$ted.
"&'m dead serious, %att. :laus is right) this is
between him and me. #nd he says to come alone
or he'll hurt Caroline. 'o &'m going alone. &t's my
decision."
"&t's your !uneral," Bonnie blurted out, almost
hysterically. "'tefan, you're crazy. /ou can't."
"(atch me."
"(e won't let you*"
"6o you think," 'tefan said, looking at her,
"that you could sto$ me if you tried."
This silence was acutely uncomfortable.
'taring at him, Bonnie felt as if 'tefan had
changed somehow before her eyes. 8is face
seemed shar$er, his $osture different, as if to
remind her of the lithe, hard $redator's muscles
under his clothes. #ll at once he seemed distant,
alien. 1rightening.
Bonnie looked away.
",et's be reasonable about this," %att was
saying, changing tactics. ",et's just stay calm
and talk this o!er*"
"There's nothing to talk o!er. &'m going.
/ou're not."
"/ou owe us more than that, 'tefan,"
%eredith said, and Bonnie felt grateful for her
cool !oice. "+kay, so you can tear us all limb
from limb) fine, no argument. (e get the $oint.
But after all we'!e been through together, we
deser!e more of a thorough discussion before
you go running off."
"/ou said it was the girls' fight too," %att
added. "(hen did you decide it wasn't."
"(hen & found out who the killer was4"
'tefan said. "&t's because of me that :laus is
here."
"o, it isn't4" Bonnie cried. "6id you make
"lena kill :atherine."
"& made :atherine go back to :laus4 +hat's
how this got started. #nd & got Caroline
in!ol!ed) if it wasn't for me, she would ne!er
ha!e hated "lena, ne!er ha!e gotten in with
Tyler. & ha!e a res$onsibility toward her."
"/ou just want to belie!e that," Bonnie almost
yelled. ":laus hates all of us4 6o you really
think he's going to let you walk out of there. 6o
you think he $lans to lea!e the rest of us alone."
"o," 'tefan said, and $icked u$ the branch
leaning against the wall. 8e took %att's knife
out of his own $ocket and began to stri$ the
twigs off, making it into a straight white s$ear.
"+h, great, you're going off for single
combat4" %att said, furious. "6on't you see how
stu$id that is. /ou're walking right into his
tra$4" 8e ad!anced a ste$ on 'tefan. "/ou may
not think that the three of us can sto$ you*"
"o, %att." %eredith's low, le!el !oice cut
across the room. "&t won't do any good." 'tefan
looked at her, the muscles around his eyes
hardening, but she just looked back, her face set
and calm. "'o you're determined to meet :laus
face to face, 'tefan. #ll right. But before you go,
at least be sure you ha!e a fighting chance."
Coolly, she began to unbutton the neck of her
tailored blouse.
Bonnie felt a jolt, e!en though she'd offered
the same thing only a week earlier. But that had
been in $ri!ate, for 3od's sake, she thought.
Then she shrugged. <ublic or $ri!ate, what
difference did it make.
'he looked at %att, whose face reflected his
consternation. Then she saw %att's brow crease
and the beginning of that stubborn, bullheaded
e-$ression that used to terrify the coaches of o$5
$osing football teams. 8is blue eyes turned to
hers and she nodded, thrusting out her chin.
(ithout a word, she unzi$$ed the light wind5
breaker she was wearing and %att $ulled off his
T5shirt.
'tefan stared from one to another of the three
$eo$le grimly disrobing in his room, trying to
conceal his own shock. But he shook his head,
the white s$ear in front of him like a wea$on.
"o."
"6on't be a jerk, 'tefan," %att sna$$ed. "!en
in the confusion of this terrible moment
something inside Bonnie $aused to admire his
bare chest. "There's three of us. /ou should be
able to take $lenty without hurting any one of
us."
"& said, no4 ot for re!enge, and not to fight
e!il with e!il4 ot for any reason. & thought you
would understand that." 'tefan's look at %att
was bitter.
"& understand that you're going to die out
there4" %att shouted.
"8e's right4" Bonnie $ressed her knuckles
against her li$s. The $remonition was getting
through her defenses. 'he didn't want to let it in,
but she didn't ha!e the strength to resist
anymore. (ith a shudder, she felt it stab through
and heard the words in her mind.
"%o one can !ight him and live," she said
$ainfully. "That's what 0ickie said, and it's true.
& !eel it, 'tefan. o one can fight him and li!e4"
1or a moment, just a moment, she thought he
might listen to her. Then his face went hard
again and he s$oke coldly.
"&t isn't your $roblem. ,et me worry about it."
"But if there's no way to win*" %att began.
"That isn't what Bonnie said4" 'tefan re$lied
tersely.
"/es, it is4 (hat the hell are you talking
about." %att shouted. &t was hard to make %att
lose his tem$er, but once lost it wasn't easily
gotten back. "'tefan, &'!e had enough*"
"#nd so ha!e &4" 'tefan shot back in a roar. &n
a tone Bonnie had ne!er heard him use before.
"&'m sick of you all, sick of your bickering and
your s$inelessness*and your $remonitions, too4
This is my $roblem."
"& thought we were a team*" %att cried.
"(e are not a team. &ou are a bunch of stu$id
humans4 "!en with e!erything that's ha$$ened
to you, dee$ down you just want to li!e your
safe little li!es in your safe little houses until
you go to your safe little gra!es4 &'m nothing like
you and & don't want to be4 &'!e $ut u$ with you
this long because & had to, but this is the end."
8e looked at each of them and s$oke
deliberately, em$hasizing each word. "& don't
need any of you. & don't want you with me, and &
don't want you following me. /ou'll only s$oil
my strategy. #nyone who does follow me, &'ll
kill."
#nd with one last smoldering glance, he
turned on his heel and walked out.
Fourteen
"8e's gone round the bend," %att said, staring
at the em$ty doorway through which 'tefan had
disa$$eared.
"o, he hasn't," said %eredith. 8er !oice was
rueful and quiet, but there was a kind of hel$less
laugh in it too. "6on't you see what he's doing,
%att." she said when he turned to her. "/elling
at us, making us hate him to try and chase us
away. Being as nasty as $ossible so we'll stay
mad and let him do this alone." 'he glanced at
the doorway and raised her eyebrows. " '#nyone
who does follow me, &'ll kill' was going a bit
o!erboard, though."
Bonnie giggled suddenly, wildly, in s$ite of
herself. "& think he borrowed it from 6amon.
'3et this straight, & don't need any of you4' "
" '/ou bunch of stu$id humans,' " %att added.
"But & still don't understand. /ou just had a
$remonition, Bonnie, and 'tefan doesn't usually
discount those. &f there's no way to fight and
win, what's the $oint of going."
"Bonnie didn't say there was no way to fight
and win. 'he said there was no way to fight and
survive. 7ight, Bonnie." %eredith looked at her.
The fit of giggles dissol!ed away. 'tartled
herself, Bonnie tried to e-amine the
$remonition, but she knew no more than the
words that had s$rung into her mind. %o one can
!ight him and live.
"/ou mean 'tefan thinks*" 'low, thunderous
outrage was smoldering in %att's eyes. "8e
thinks he's going to go and sto$ :laus e!en
though he gets killed himself. ,ike some
sacrificial lamb."
"%ore like "lena," %eredith said soberly.
"#nd maybe*so he can be with her."
"8uh5uh." Bonnie shook her head. 'he might
not know more about the $ro$hecy, but this she
knew. "8e doesn't think that, &'m sure. "lena's
s$ecial. 'he is what she is because she died too
young) she left so much unfinished in her own
life, and*well, she's a s$ecial case. But 'tefan's
been a !am$ire for fi!e hundred years, and he
certainly wouldn't be dying young. There's no
guarantee he'd end u$ with "lena. 8e might go
to another $lace or*or just go out. #nd he
knows that. &'m sure he knows that. & think he's
just kee$ing his $romise to her, to sto$ :laus no
matter what it costs."
"To try, at least," %att said softly, and it
sounded as if he were quoting. ""!en if you
know you're going to lose." 8e looked u$ at the
girls suddenly. "&'m going after him."
"+f course," said %eredith $atiently.
%att hesitated. "Ah*& don't su$$ose & could
con!ince you two to stay here."
"#fter all that ins$iring talk about teamwork.
ot a chance."
"& was afraid of that. 'o9"
"'o," said Bonnie, "we're out of here."

They gathered what wea$ons they could.
%att's $ocketknife that 'tefan had dro$$ed, the
i!ory5hilted dagger from 'tefan's dresser, a
car!ing knife from the kitchen.
+utside, there was no sign of %rs. 1lowers.
The sky was $ale $ur$le, shading to a$ricot in
the west. Twilight of the solstice e!e, Bonnie
thought, and hairs on her arms tried to lift.
":laus said the old farmhouse in the woods*
that must mean the 1rancher $lace," %att said.
"(here :atherine dum$ed 'tefan in the
abandoned well."
"That makes sense. 8e's $robably been using
:atherine's tunnel to get back and forth under
the ri!er," %eredith said. "Anless +ld +nes are
so $owerful they can cross running water
without harming themsel!es."
That's right, Bonnie remembered, e!il things
couldn't cross running water, and the more e!il
you were, the harder it was. "But we don't know
anything about the +riginals," she said aloud.
"o, and that means we'!e got to be careful,"
%att said. "& know these woods $retty well, and
& know the $ath 'tefan will $robably use. & think
we should take a different one."
"'o 'tefan won't see us and kill us."
"'o <laus won't see us, or not all of us. 'o
maybe we'll ha!e a chance of getting to
Caroline. 'omehow or other we'!e got to get
Caroline out of the equation) as long as :laus
can threaten to hurt her he can make 'tefan do
anything he wants. #nd it's always best to $lan
ahead, to get a jum$ on the enemy. :laus said
meet there after dark) well, we'll be there be!ore
dark and maybe we can sur$rise him."
Bonnie was dee$ly im$ressed by this strategy.
o wonder he's a quarterback, she was thinking.
& would ha!e just rushed in, yelling.
%att $icked out an almost in!isible $ath
between the oak trees. The undergrowth was
es$ecially lush this time of year, with mosses,
grasses, flowering $lants, and ferns. Bonnie had
to trust that %att knew where he was going,
because she certainly didn't. #bo!e, birds were
gi!ing one last burst of song before seeking out
a roost for the night.
&t got dimmer. %oths and lacewings fluttered
$ast Bonnie's face. #fter stumbling through a
$atch of toadstools co!ered with feeding slugs,
she was intensely grateful that this time she'd
worn jeans.
#t last %att sto$$ed them. "(e're getting
close," he said, his !oice low. "There's a sort of
bluff where we can look down and :laus might
not see us. Be quiet and careful."
Bonnie had ne!er taken so much trouble
$lacing her feet before. 1ortunately the leaf litter
was wet and not crackly. #fter a few minutes
%att dro$$ed to his stomach and gestured for
them to follow. Bonnie ke$t telling herself,
fiercely, that she didn't mind the centi$edes and
earthworms her sliding fingers dug u$, that she
had no feelings one way or another about
cobwebs in the face. This was life and death, and
she was com#etent. o dweeb, no baby, but
com#etent.
"8ere," %att whis$ered, his !oice barely
audible. Bonnie scooted on her stomach u$ to
him and looked.
They were gazing down on the 1rancher
homestead*or what was left of it. &t had
crumbled into the earth long ago, taken back by
the forest. ow it was only a foundation,
building stones co!ered with flowering weeds
and $rickly brambles, and one tall chimney like
a lonely monument.
"There she is. Caroline," %eredith breathed in
Bonnie's other ear.
Caroline was a dim figure sitting against the
chimney. 8er $ale green dress showed u$ in the
gathering dark, but her auburn hair just looked
black. 'omething white shone across her face,
and after a moment Bonnie realized it was a gag.
Ta$e or a bandage. 1rom her strange $osture*
arms behind her, legs stretched straight out in
front*Bonnie also guessed she was tied.
<oor Caroline, she thought, forgi!ing the
other girl all the nasty, $etty, selfish things she'd
e!er done, which was a $retty considerable
amount when you got down to it. But Bonnie
couldn't imagine anything worse than being
abducted by a $sycho !am$ire who'd already
killed two of your classmates, dragged out here
to the woods and bound, and then left to wait,
with your life de$ending on another !am$ire
who had fairly good reason to hate you. #fter
all, Caroline had wanted 'tefan in the beginning,
and had hated and tried to humiliate "lena for
getting him. 'tefan 'al!atore was the last $erson
who should feel kindly toward Caroline 1orbes.
",ook4" said %att. "&s that him. :laus."
Bonnie had seen it too, a ri$$le of mo!ement
on the o$$osite side of the chimney. #s she
strained her eyes he a$$eared, his light tan
raincoat fla$$ing ghostlike around his legs. 8e
glanced down at Caroline and she shrank from
him, trying to lean away. 8is laughter sounded
so clearly in the quiet air that Bonnie flinched.
"That's him," she whis$ered, dro$$ing down
behind the screening ferns. "But where's 'tefan.
&t's almost dark now."
"%aybe he got smart and decided not to
come," said %att.
"o such luck," said %eredith. 'he was
looking through the ferns to the south. Bonnie
glanced that way herself and started.
'tefan was standing at the edge of the
clearing, ha!ing materialized there as if out of
thin air. ot e!en :laus had seen him coming,
Bonnie thought. 8e stood silently, making no
attem$t to hide himself or the white ash s$ear he
was carrying. There was something in his stance
and the way he looked o!er the scene before him
that made Bonnie remember that in the fifteenth
century he'd been an aristocrat, a member of the
nobility. 8e said nothing, waiting for :laus to
notice him, refusing to be rushed.
(hen :laus did turn south he went still, and
Bonnie got the feeling he was sur$rised 'tefan
had sneaked u$ on him. But then he laughed and
s$read his arms.
"'al!atore4 (hat a coincidence) & was just
thinking about you4"
'lowly, 'tefan looked :laus u$ and down,
from the tails of his tattered raincoat to the to$ of
his windblown head. (hat 'tefan said was2
"/ou asked for me. &'m here. ,et the girl go."
"6id & say that." ,ooking genuinely
sur$rised, :laus $ressed two hands to his chest.
Then he shook his head, chuckling. "& don't think
so. ,et's talk first."
'tefan nodded, as if :laus had confirmed
something bitter he'd been e-$ecting. 8e took
the s$ear from his shoulder and held it in front of
him, handling the unwieldy length of wood
deftly, easily. "&'m listening," he said.
"ot as dumb as he looks," %att murmured
from behind the ferns, a note of res$ect in his
!oice. "#nd he's not as an-ious to get killed as &
thought," %att added. "8e's being careful."
:laus gestured toward Caroline, the ti$s of
his fingers brushing her auburn hair. "(hy don't
you come here so we don't ha!e to shout." But
he didn't threaten to hurt his $risoner, Bonnie
noticed.
"& can hear you just fine," 'tefan re$lied.
"3ood," %att whis$ered. "That's it, 'tefan4"
Bonnie, though, was studying Caroline. The
ca$ti!e girl was struggling, tossing her head
back and forth as if she were frantic or in $ain.
But Bonnie got a strange feeling about
Caroline's mo!ements, es$ecially those !iolent
jerks of the head, as if the girl was straining to
reach the sky. The sky9 Bonnie's gaze lifted u$
to it, where full darkness had fallen and a
waning moon shone o!er the trees. That was
why she could see that Caroline's hair was
auburn now2 the moonlight, she thought. Then,
with a shock, her eyes dro$$ed to the tree just
abo!e 'tefan, whose branches were rustling
slightly in the absence of any wind. "%att." she
whis$ered, alarmed.
'tefan was focused on :laus, e!ery sense,
e!ery muscle, e!ery atom of his <ower honed
and turned toward the +ld +ne before him. But
in that tree directly abo!e him9
#ll thoughts of strategy, of asking %att what
to do, fled from Bonnie's mind. 'he bolted u$
from her $lace of concealment and shouted.
"'tefan4 #bo!e you4 &t's a tra$4"
'tefan lea$ed aside, neat as a cat, just as
something $lunged down on the e-act $lace he'd
been standing an instant before. The moon lit the
scene $erfectly, enough for Bonnie to see the
white of Tyler's bared teeth.
#nd to see the white flash of :laus's eyes as
he whirled on her. 1or one stunned instant she
stared at him, and then lightning crackled.
1rom an em$ty sky.
&t was only later that Bonnie would realize the
strangeness*the fearsomeness*of this. #t the
time she scarcely noted that the sky was clear
and star swe$t and that the jagged blue bolt that
forked down struck the $alm of :laus's u$raised
hand. The ne-t sight she saw was so terrifying as
to black e!erything else out2 :laus folding his
hand o!er that lightning, gathering it somehow,
and throwing it at her.
'tefan was yelling, telling her to get away, get
away4 Bonnie heard him while she stared,
$aralyzed, and then something grabbed her and
wrenched her aside. The bolt sna$$ed o!er her
head, with a sound like a giant whi$ cracking
and a smell like ozone. 'he landed facedown in
moss and rolled o!er to gras$ %eredith's hand
and thank %eredith for sa!ing her, only to find
that it was %att.
"'tay here4 7ight here4" he shouted, and
bounded away.
Those dreaded words. They cata$ulted Bonnie
right u$, and she was running after him before
she knew what she was doing.
#nd then the world turned into chaos.
:laus had whirled back on 'tefan, who was
gra$$ling with Tyler, beating him. Tyler, in his
wolf form, was making terrible sounds as 'tefan
threw him to the ground.
%eredith was running toward Caroline,
a$$roaching from behind the chimney so :laus
wouldn't s$ot her. Bonnie saw her reach
Caroline and saw the flash of 'tefan's sil!er
dagger as %eredith cut the cords around
Caroline's wrists. Then %eredith was half
carrying, half dragging Caroline behind the
chimney to work on her feet.
# sound like antlers clashing made Bonnie
s$in around. :laus had come at 'tefan with a tall
branch of his own*it must ha!e been lying flat
on the ground before. &t looked just as shar$ as
'tefan's, making it a ser!iceable lance. But
:laus and 'tefan weren't just stabbing at each
other) they were using the sticks as quarterstaffs.
7obin 8ood, Bonnie thought dazedly. ,ittle
=ohn and 7obin. That was what it looked like2
:laus was that much taller and hea!ier boned
than 'tefan.
Then Bonnie saw something else and cried
out wordlessly. Behind 'tefan, Tyler had gotten
u$ again and was crouching, just as he had in the
gra!eyard before lunging for 'tefan's throat.
'tefan's back was to him. #nd Bonnie couldn't
warn him in time.
But she'd forgotten about %att. 8ead down,
ignoring claws and fangs, he was charging at
Tyler, tackling him like a first5rate linebacker
before he could lea$. Tyler went flying
sideways, with %att on to$ of him.
Bonnie was o!erwhelmed. 'o much was
ha$$ening. %eredith was sawing through
Caroline's ankle cords) %att was $ummeling
Tyler in a way that certainly would ha!e gotten
him disqualified on the football field) 'tefan was
whirling that white ash staff as if he'd been
trained for it. :laus was laughing deliriously,
seeming e-hilarated by the e-ercise, as they
traded blows with deadly s$eed and accuracy.
But %att seemed to be in trouble now. Tyler
was gri$$ing him and snarling, trying to get a
hold on his throat. (ildly, Bonnie looked around
for a wea$on, entirely forgetting the car!ing
knife in her $ocket. 8er eye fell on a dead oak
branch. 'he $icked it u$ and ran to where Tyler
and %att were struggling.
+nce there, though, she faltered. 'he didn't
dare use the stick for fear she'd hit %att with it.
8e and Tyler were rolling o!er and o!er in a blur
of motion.
Then %att was on to$ of Tyler again, holding
Tyler's head down, holding himself clear. Bonnie
saw her chance and aimed the stick. But Tyler
saw her. (ith a burst of su$ernatural strength,
he gathered his legs and sent %att soaring off
him backward. %att's head struck a tree with a
sound Bonnie would ne!er forget. The dull
sound of a rotten melon bursting. 8e slid down
the front of the tree and was still.
Bonnie was gas$ing, stunned. 'he might ha!e
started toward %att, but Tyler was there in front
of her, breathing hard, bloody sali!a running
down his chin. 8e looked e!en more like an
animal than he had in the gra!eyard. #s if in a
dream, Bonnie raised her stick, but she could
feel it shaking in her hands. %att was so still*
was he breathing. Bonnie could hear the sob in
her own breath as she faced Tyler. This was
ridiculous) this was a boy from her own school.
# boy she'd danced with last year at the =unior
<rom. 8ow could he be kee$ing her away from
%att, how could he be trying to hurt them all.
8ow could he be doing this.
"Tyler, $lease*" she began, meaning to
reason with him, to beg him9
"#ll alone in the woods, little girl." he said,
and his !oice was a thick and guttural growl,
sha$ed at the last minute into words. &n that
instant Bonnie knew that this was not the boy
she'd gone to school with. This was an animal.
+h, 3od, he's ugly, she thought. 7o$es of red
s$it hung out of his mouth. #nd those yellow
eyes with the slitted $u$ils*in them she saw the
cruelty of the shark, and the crocodile, and the
was$ that lays its eggs in a cater$illar's li!ing
body. #ll the cruelty of animal nature in those
two yellow eyes.
"'omebody should ha!e warned you," Tyler
said, dro$$ing his jaw to laugh the way a dog
does. "Because if you go out in the woods alone,
you might meet the Big Bad*"
"=erk4" a !oice finished for him, and with a
feeling of gratitude that bordered on the
religious, Bonnie saw %eredith beside her.
%eredith, holding 'tefan's dagger, which shone
liquidly in the moonlight.
"'il!er, Tyler," %eredith said, brandishing it.
"& wonder what sil!er does to a werewolf's
members. (ant to see." #ll %eredith's
elegance, her standoffishness, her cool
obser!er's dis$assion were gone. This was the
essential %eredith, a warrior %eredith, and
although she was smiling, she was mad.
"&es4" shouted Bonnie gleefully, feeling
$ower rush through her. 'uddenly she could
mo!e. 'he and %eredith, together, were strong.
%eredith was stalking Tyler from one side,
Bonnie held her stick ready on the other. #
longing she'd ne!er felt before shot through her,
the longing to hit Tyler so hard his head would
come flying off. 'he could feel the strength to do
it surging in her arm.
#nd Tyler, with his animal instinct, could
sense it, could sense it from both of them,
closing in on either side. 8e recoiled, caught
himself, and turned to try and get away from
them. They turned too. &n a minute they were all
three orbiting like a mini solar system2 Tyler
turning around and around in the middle) Bonnie
and %eredith circling him, looking for a chance
to attack.
+ne, two, three. 'ome uns$oken signal
flashed from %eredith to Bonnie. =ust as Tyler
lea$ed at %eredith, trying to knock the knife
aside, Bonnie hit. 7emembering the ad!ice of a
distant boyfriend who'd tried to teach her to $lay
baseball, she imagined not just hitting Tyler's
head but through his head, hitting something on
the o$$osite side. 'he $ut the whole weight of
her small body behind the blow, and the shock of
connecting nearly jarred her teeth loose. &t jolted
her arms agonizingly and it shattered the stick.
But Tyler fell like a bird shot out of the sky.
"& did it4 /es. All right* &es4" Bonnie shouted,
flinging the stick away. Trium$h eru$ted from
her in a $rimal shout. "$e did it4" 'he grabbed
the hea!y body by the back of the mane and
$ulled it off %eredith, where it had fallen. "(e
*"
Then she broke off, her words freezing in her
throat. "Meredith4" she cried.
"&t's all right," %eredith gas$ed, her !oice
tight with $ain. #nd weakness, Bonnie thought,
chilled as if doused with ice water. Tyler had
clawed her leg to the bone. There were huge,
ga$ing wounds in the thigh of %eredith's jeans
and in the white skin that showed clearly
through the torn cloth. #nd to Bonnie's absolute
horror, she could see inside the skin too, could
see flesh and muscle ri$$ed and red blood
$ouring out.
"%eredith*" she cried frantically. They had
to get %eredith to a doctor. "!eryone had to sto$
now) e!eryone must understand that. They had
an injury here) they needed to get an ambulance,
to call ECC. "%eredith," she gas$ed, almost
wee$ing.
"Tie it u$ with something." %eredith's face
was white. 'hock. 3oing into shock. #nd so
much blood) so much blood coming out. +h,
3od, thought Bonnie, $lease hel$ me. 'he
looked for something to tie it u$ with, but there
was nothing.
'omething dro$$ed on the ground beside her.
# length of nylon cord like the cord they'd used
to tie u$ Tyler, with frayed edges. Bonnie looked
u$.
"Can you use that." asked Caroline
uncertainly, her teeth chattering.
'he was wearing the green dress, her auburn
hair straggling and stuck to her face with sweat
and blood. "!en as she s$oke she swayed, and
fell to her knees beside %eredith.
"#re you hurt." Bonnie gas$ed.
Caroline shook her head, but then she bent
forward, racked with nausea, and Bonnie saw
the marks in her throat. But there was no time to
worry about Caroline now. %eredith was more
im$ortant.
Bonnie tied the cord abo!e %eredith's
wounds, her mind running des$erately o!er
things she'd learned from her sister %ary. %ary
was a nurse. %ary said*a tourniquet couldn't be
too tight or left on too long or gangrene set in.
But she had to sto$ the gushing blood. +h,
%eredith.
"Bonnie*hel$ 'tefan," %eredith was
gas$ing, her !oice almost a whis$er. "8e's going
to need it9" 'he sagged backward, her
breathing stertorous, her slitted eyes looking u$
at the sky.
(et. "!erything was wet. Bonnie's hands, her
clothes, the ground. (et with %eredith's blood.
#nd %att was still lying under the tree,
unconscious. 'he couldn't lea!e them, es$ecially
not with Tyler there. 8e might wake u$.
6azed, she turned to Caroline, who was
shi!ering and retching, sweat beading her face.
Aseless, Bonnie thought. But she had no other
choice.
"Caroline, listen to me," she said. 'he $icked
u$ the largest $iece of the stick she'd used on
Tyler and $ut it into Caroline's hands. "/ou stay
with %att and %eredith. ,oosen that tourniquet
e!ery twenty minutes or so. #nd if Tyler starts to
wake u$, if he e!en twitches, you hit him as hard
as you can with this. Anderstand. Caroline," she
added, "this is your big chance to $ro!e you're
good for something. That you're not useless. #ll
right." 'he caught the furti!e green eyes and
re$eated, "#ll right."
"But what are you going to do."
Bonnie looked toward the clearing.
"o, Bonnie." Caroline's hand gras$ed her,
and Bonnie noted with some $art of her mind the
broken nails, the ro$e burns on the wrists. "'tay
here where it's safe. 6on't go to them. There's
nothing you can do*"
Bonnie shook her off and made for the
clearing before she lost her resol!e. &n her heart,
she knew Caroline was right. There was nothing
she could do. But something %att had said
before they left was ringing in her mind. To try
at least. 'he had to try.
'till, in those ne-t few horrible minutes all
she could do was look.
'o far, 'tefan and :laus had been trading
blows with such !iolence and accuracy that it
had been like a beautiful, lethal dance. But it had
been an equal, or almost equal, match. 'tefan
had been holding his own.
ow she saw 'tefan bearing down with his
white ash lance, $ressing :laus to his knees,
forcing him backward, farther and farther back,
like a limbo dancer seeing how low he could go.
#nd Bonnie could see :laus's face now, mouth
slightly o$en, staring u$ at 'tefan with what
looked like astonishment and fear.
Then e!erything changed.
#t the !ery bottom of his descent, when :laus
had bent back as far as he could go, when it
seemed that he must be about to colla$se or
break, something ha$$ened.
:laus smiled.
#nd then he started $ushing back.
Bonnie saw 'tefan's muscles knot, saw his
arms go rigid, trying to resist. But :laus, still
grinning madly, eyes wide o$en, just ke$t
coming. 8e unfolded like some terrible jack5in5
the5bo-, only slowly. 'lowly. &ne-orably. 8is
grin getting wider until it looked as if it would
s$lit his face. ,ike the Cheshire cat.
# cat, thought Bonnie.
Cat with a mouse.
ow 'tefan was the one grunting and
straining, teeth clenched, trying to hold :laus
off. But :laus and his stick bore down, forcing
'tefan backward, forcing him to the ground.
3rinning all the time.
Antil 'tefan was lying on his back, his own
stick $ressing into his throat with the weight of
:laus's lance across it. :laus looked down at
him and beamed. "&'m tired of $laying, little
boy," he said, and he straightened and threw his
own stick down. "ow it's dying time."
8e took 'tefan's staff away from him as
easily as if he were taking it from a child. <icked
it u$ with a flick of his wrist and broke it o!er
his knee, showing how strong he was, how
strong he had always been. 8ow cruelly he had
been $laying with 'tefan.
+ne of the hal!es of the white ash stick he
tossed o!er his shoulder across the clearing. The
other he jabbed at 'tefan. Asing not the $ointed
end but the s$lintered one, broken into a dozen
tiny $oints. 8e jabbed down with a force that
seemed almost casual, but 'tefan screamed. 8e
did it again and again, eliciting a scream each
time.
Bonnie cried out, soundlessly.
'he had ne!er heard 'tefan scream before.
'he didn't need to be told what kind of $ain must
ha!e caused it. 'he didn't need to be told that
white ash might be the only wood deadly to
:laus, but that any wood was deadly to 'tefan.
That 'tefan was, if not dying now, about to die.
That :laus, with his hand now raised, was going
to finish it with one more $lunging blow. :laus's
face was tilted to the moon in a grin of obscene
$leasure, showing that this was what he liked,
where he got his thrills. 1rom killing.
#nd Bonnie couldn't mo!e, couldn't e!en cry.
The world swam around her. &t had all been a
mistake, she wasn't com$etent) she was a baby
after all. 'he didn't want to see that final thrust,
but she couldn't look away. #nd all this couldn't
be ha$$ening, but it was. &t was.
:laus flourished the s$lintered stake and with
a smile of $ure ecstasy started to bring it down.
#nd a s$ear shot across the clearing and
struck him in the middle of the back, landing and
qui!ering like a giant arrow, like half a giant
arrow. &t made :laus's arms fling out, dro$$ing
the stake) it shocked the ecstatic grin right off his
face. 8e stood, arms e-tended, for a second, and
then turned, the white ash stick in his back
wobbling slightly.
Bonnie's eyes were too dazzled by wa!es of
gray dots to see, but she heard the !oice clearly
as it rang out, cold and arrogant and filled with
absolute con!iction. =ust fi!e words, but they
changed e!erything.
")et away !rom my brother."
Fifteen
:laus screamed, a scream that reminded
Bonnie of ancient $redators, of the sabertooth
cat and the bull mammoth. Blood frothed out of
his mouth along with the scream, turning that
handsome face into a twisted mask of fury.
8is hands scrabbled at his back, trying to get
a gri$ on the white ash stake and $ull it out. But
it was buried too dee$. The throw had been a
good one.
"6amon," Bonnie whis$ered.
8e was standing at the edge of the clearing,
framed by oak trees. #s she watched, he took a
ste$ toward :laus, and then another) lithe
stalking ste$s filled with deadly $ur$ose.
#nd he was angry. Bonnie would ha!e run
from the look on his face if her muscles hadn't
been frozen. 'he had ne!er seen such menace so
barely held in check.
"3et9 away9 from my brother," he said,
almost breathing it, with his eyes ne!er lea!ing
:laus's as he took another ste$.
:laus screamed again, but his hands sto$$ed
their frantic scrabbling. "/ou idiot4 (e don't
ha!e to fight4 & told you that at the house4 (e
can ignore each other4"
6amon's !oice was no louder than before.
"3et away from my brother." Bonnie could feel
it inside him, a swell of <ower like a tsunami.
8e continued, so softly that Bonnie had to strain
to hear him, "Before & tear your heart out."
Bonnie could mo!e after all. 'he ste$$ed
backward.
"& told you4" screamed :laus, frothing.
6amon didn't acknowledge the words in any
way. 8is whole being seemed focused on :laus's
throat, on his chest, on the beating heart inside
that he was going to tear out.
:laus $icked u$ the unbroken lance and
rushed him.
&n s$ite of all the blood, the blond man
seemed to ha!e $lenty of strength left. The rush
was sudden, !iolent, and almost inesca$able.
Bonnie saw him thrust the lance at 6amon and
shut her eyes in!oluntarily, and then o$ened
them an instant later as she heard the flurry of
wings.
:laus had $lunged right through the s$ot
where 6amon had been, and a black crow was
soaring u$ward while a single feather floated
down. #s Bonnie stared, :laus's rush took him
into the darkness beyond the clearing and he
disa$$eared.
6ead silence fell in the wood.
Bonnie's $aralysis broke slowly, and she first
ste$$ed, and then ran to where 'tefan lay. 8e
didn't o$en his eyes at her a$$roach) he seemed
unconscious. 'he knelt beside him. #nd then she
felt a sort of horrible calm cree$ o!er her, like
someone who has been swimming in ice water
and at last feels the first undeniable signs of
hy$othermia. &f she hadn't had so many
successi!e shocks already, she might ha!e fled
screaming or dissol!ed into hysterics. But as it
was, this was sim$ly the last ste$, the last little
slide into unreality. &nto a world that couldn't be,
but was.
Because it was bad. 0ery bad. #s bad as it
could be.
'he'd ne!er seen anybody hurt like this. ot
e!en %r. Tanner, and he had died of his wounds.
othing %ary had e!er said could hel$ fi- this.
"!en if they'd had 'tefan on a stretcher outside
an o$erating room, it wouldn't ha!e been
enough.
&n that state of dreadful calm she looked u$ to
see a flutter of wings blur and shimmer in the
moonlight. 6amon stood beside her, and she
s$oke quite collectedly and rationally.
"(ill gi!ing him blood hel$."
8e didn't seem to hear her. 8is eyes were all
black, all $u$il. That barely leashed !iolence,
that sense of ferocious energy held back, was
gone. 8e knelt and touched the dark head on the
ground.
"'tefan."
Bonnie shut her eyes.
6amon's scared, she thought. 6amon's scared
*,amon4*and oh, 3od, & don't know what to
do. There's nothing to do*and it's all o!er and
we're all lost and ,amon is scared for 'tefan. 8e
isn't going to take care of things and he hasn't
got a solution and somebody's got to fi- this.
#nd oh, 3od, $lease hel$ me because &'m so
frightened and 'tefan's dying and %eredith and
%att are hurt and :laus is going to come back.
'he o$ened her eyes to look at 6amon. 8e
was white, his face looking terrifyingly young at
that moment, with those dilated black eyes.
":laus is coming back," Bonnie said quietly.
'he wasn't afraid of him anymore. They weren't
a centuries5old hunter and a se!enteen5year5old
human girl, sitting here at the edge of the world.
They were just two $eo$le, 6amon and
Bonnie, who had to do the best they could.
"& know," 6amon said. 8e was holding
'tefan's hand, looking com$letely
unembarrassed about it, and it seemed quite
logical and sensible. Bonnie could feel him
sending <ower into 'tefan, could also feel that it
wasn't enough.
"(ould blood hel$ him."
"ot much. # little, maybe."
"#nything that hel$s at all we'!e got to try."
'tefan whis$ered, "o."
Bonnie was sur$rised. 'he'd thought he was
unconscious. But his eyes were o$en now, o$en
and alert and smoldering green. They were the
only ali!e thing about him.
"6on't be stu$id," 6amon said, his !oice
hardening. 8e was gri$$ing 'tefan's hand until
his knuckles whitened. "/ou're badly hurt."
"& won't break my $romise." That immo!able
stubbornness was in 'tefan's !oice, in his $ale
face. #nd when 6amon o$ened his mouth again,
undoubtedly to say that 'tefan would break it
and like it or 6amon would break his neck,
'tefan added, ""s$ecially when it won't do any
good."
There was a silence while Bonnie fought with
the raw truth of this. (here they were now, in
this terrible $lace beyond all ordinary things,
$retense or false reassurance seemed wrong.
+nly the truth would do. #nd 'tefan was
telling the truth.
8e was still looking at his brother, who was
looking back, all that fierce, furious attention
focused on 'tefan as it had been focused on
:laus earlier. #s if somehow that would hel$.
"&'m not badly hurt, &'m dead," 'tefan said
brutally, his eyes locked on 6amon's. Their last
and greatest struggle of wills, Bonnie thought.
"#nd you need to get Bonnie and the others out
of here."
"(e won't lea!e you," Bonnie inter!ened.
That was the truth) she could say that.
"/ou have to4" 'tefan didn't glance aside,
didn't look away from his brother. "6amon, you
know &'m right. :laus will be here any minute.
6on't throw your life away. 6on't throw their
li!es away."
"& don't gi!e a damn about their li!es,"
6amon hissed. The truth also, Bonnie thought,
curiously unoffended. There was only one life
6amon cared about here, and it wasn't his own.
"/es, you do4" 'tefan flared back. 8e was
hanging on to 6amon's hand with just as fierce a
gri$, as if this was a contest and he could force
6amon to concede that way. ""lena had a last
request) well, this is mine. /ou ha!e <ower,
6amon. & want you to use it to hel$ them."
"'tefan9" Bonnie whis$ered hel$lessly.
"'romise me," 'tefan said to 6amon, and then
a s$asm of $ain twisted his face.
1or uncountable seconds 6amon sim$ly
looked down at him. Then he said, "& $romise,"
quick and shar$ as the stroke of a dagger. 8e let
go of 'tefan's hand and stood, turning to Bonnie.
"Come on."
"(e can't leave him9"
"/es, we can." There was nothing young
about 6amon's face now. othing !ulnerable.
"/ou and your human friends are lea!ing here,
$ermanently. & am coming back."
Bonnie shook her head. 'he knew, dimly, that
6amon wasn't betraying 'tefan, that it was some
case of 6amon $utting 'tefan's ideals abo!e
'tefan's life, but it was all too abstruse and
incom$rehensible to her. 'he didn't understand it
and she didn't want to. #ll she knew was that
'tefan couldn't be left lying there.
"/ou're coming now," 6amon said, reaching
for her, the steely ring back in his !oice. Bonnie
$re$ared herself for a fight, and then something
ha$$ened that made all their debating
meaningless. There was a crack like a giant whi$
and a flash like daylight, and Bonnie was
blinded. (hen she could see through the
afterimage, her eyes flew to the flames that were
licking u$ from a newly blackened hole at the
base of a tree.
:laus had returned. (ith lightning.
Bonnie's eye darted to him ne-t, as the only
other thing mo!ing in the clearing. 8e was
wa!ing the bloody white ash stake he'd $ulled
out of his own back like a gory tro$hy.
,ightning rod, thought Bonnie illogically, and
then there was another crash.
&t stabbed down from an em$ty sky, in huge
blue5white forks that lit e!erything like the sun
at noon. Bonnie watched as one tree and then
another was hit, each one closer than the last.
1lames licked u$ like hungry red goblins among
the lea!es.
Two trees on either side of Bonnie e-$loded,
with cracks so loud that she felt rather than
heard it, a $iercing $ain in her eardrums.
6amon, whose eyes were more sensiti!e, threw
u$ a hand to $rotect them.
Then he shouted ":laus4" and s$rang toward
the blond man. 8e wasn't stalking now) this was
the deadly race of attack. The burst of killing
s$eed of the hunting cat or the wolf.
,ightning caught him in mids$ring.
Bonnie screamed as she saw it, jum$ing to her
feet. There was a blue flash of su$erheated gases
and a smell of burning, and then 6amon was
down, lying motionless on his face. Bonnie
could see tiny wis$s of smoke rise from him, just
as they did from the trees.
'$eechless with horror, she looked at :laus.
8e was swaggering through the clearing,
holding his bloody stick like a golf club. 8e bent
down o!er 6amon as he $assed, and smiled.
Bonnie wanted to scream again, but she didn't
ha!e the breath. There didn't seem to be any air
left to breathe.
"&'ll deal with you later," :laus told the
unconscious 6amon. Then his face ti$$ed u$
toward Bonnie.
"/ou," he said, "&'m going to deal with right
now."
&t was an instant before she realized he was
looking at 'tefan, and not her. Those electric
blue eyes were fi-ed on 'tefan's face. They
mo!ed to 'tefan's bloody middle.
"&'m going to eat you now, 'al!atore."
Bonnie was all alone. The only one left
standing. #nd she was afraid.
But she knew what she had to do.
'he let her knees colla$se again, dro$$ing to
the ground beside 'tefan.
#nd this is how it ends, she thought. /ou
kneel beside your knight and then you face the
enemy.
'he looked at :laus and mo!ed so that she
was shielding 'tefan. 8e seemed to notice her
for the first time, and frowned as if he'd found a
s$ider in his salad. 1irelight flickered orange5red
on his face.
"3et out of the way."
"o."
#nd this is how the ending starts. ,ike this, so
sim$ly, with one word, and you're going to die
on a summer night. # summer night when the
moon and stars are shining and bonfires burn
like the flames the 6ruids used to summon the
dead.
"Bonnie, go," 'tefan said $ainfully. "3et out
while you can."
"o," Bonnie said. &'m sorry, "lena, she
thought. & can't sa!e him. This is all & can do.
"3et out of the way," :laus said through his
teeth.
"o." 'he could wait and let 'tefan die this
way, instead of with :laus's teeth in his throat. &t
might not seem like much of a difference, but it
was the most she could offer.
"Bonnie9" 'tefan whis$ered.
"6on't you know who & am, girl. &'!e walked
with the de!il. &f you mo!e, &'ll let you die
quickly."
Bonnie's !oice had gi!en out. 'he shook her
head.
:laus threw back his own head and laughed.
# little more blood trickled out, too. "#ll right,"
he said. "8a!e it your own way. Both of you go
together."
'ummer night, Bonnie thought. The solstice
e!e. (hen the line between worlds is so thin.
"'ay good night, sweetheart."
o time to trance, no time for anything.
othing e-ce$t one des$erate a$$eal.
"lena4" Bonnie screamed. "lena* lena4"
:laus recoiled.
1or an instant, it seemed as if the name alone
had the $ower to alarm him. +r as if he e-$ected
something to res$ond to Bonnie's cry. 8e stood,
listening.
Bonnie drew on her $owers, $utting
e!erything she had into it, throwing her need and
her call out into the !oid.
#nd felt9 nothing.
othing disturbed the summer night e-ce$t
the crackling sound of flames. :laus turned back
to Bonnie and 'tefan, and grinned.
Then Bonnie saw the mist cree$ing along the
ground.
o*it couldn't be mist. &t must be smoke
from the fire. But it didn't beha!e like either. &t
was swirling, rising in the air like a tiny
whirlwind or dust de!il. &t was gathering into a
sha$e roughly the size of a man.
There was another one a little distance away.
Then Bonnie saw a third. The same thing was
ha$$ening all o!er.
%ist was flowing out of the ground, between
the trees. <ools of it, each se$arate and distinct.
Bonnie, staring mutely, could see through each
$atch, could see the flames, the oak trees, the
bricks of the chimney. :laus had sto$$ed
smiling, sto$$ed mo!ing, and was watching too.
Bonnie turned to 'tefan, unable to e!en frame
the question.
"Anquiet s$irits," he whis$ered huskily, his
green eyes intent. "The solstice."
#nd then Bonnie understood.
They were coming. 1rom across the ri!er,
where the old cemetery lay. 1rom the woods,
where countless makeshift gra!es had been dug
to dum$ bodies in before they rotted. The
unquiet s$irits, the soldiers who had fought here
and died during the Ci!il (ar. # su$ernatural
host answering the call for hel$.
They were forming all around. There were
hundreds of them.
Bonnie could actually see faces now. The
misty outlines were filling in with $ale hues like
so many runny watercolors. 'he saw a flash of
blue, a glimmer of gray. Both Anion and
Confederate troo$s. Bonnie glim$sed a $istol
thrust into a belt, the glint of an ornamented
sword. Che!rons on a slee!e. # bushy dark
beard) a long, well5tended white one. # small
figure, child size, with dark holes for eyes and a
drum hanging at thigh le!el.
"+h, my 3od," she whis$ered. "+h, )od." &t
wasn't swearing. &t was something like a $rayer.
ot that she wasn't frightened of them,
because she was. &t was e!ery nightmare she'd
e!er had about the cemetery come true. ,ike her
first dream about "lena, when things came
crawling out of the black $its in the earth) only
these things weren't crawling, they were !lying,
skimming and floating until they swirled into
human form. "!erything that Bonnie had e!er
felt about the old gra!eyard*that it was ali!e
and full of watching eyes, that there was some
<ower lurking behind its waiting stillness*was
$ro!ing true. The earth of 1ell's Church was
gi!ing u$ its bloody memories. The s$irits of
those who'd died here were walking again.
#nd Bonnie could feel their anger. &t
frightened her, but another emotion was waking
u$ inside her, making her catch her breath and
clench tighter on 'tefan's hand. Because the
misty army had a leader.
+ne figure was floating in front of the others,
closest to the $lace where :laus stood. &t had no
sha$e or definition as yet, but it glowed and
scintillated with the $ale golden light of a candle
flame. Then, before Bonnie's eyes, it seemed to
take on substance from the air, shining brighter
and brighter e!ery minute with an unearthly
light. &t was brighter than the circle of fire. &t
was so bright that :laus leaned back from it and
Bonnie blinked, but when she turned at a low
sound, she saw 'tefan staring straight into it,
fearlessly, with wide5o$en eyes. #nd smiling, so
faintly, as if glad to ha!e this be the last thing he
saw.
Then Bonnie was sure.
:laus dro$$ed the stake. 8e had turned away
from Bonnie and 'tefan to face the being of light
that hung in the clearing like an a!enging angel.
3olden hair streaming back in an in!isible wind,
"lena looked down on him.
"'he came," Bonnie whis$ered.
"/ou asked her to," 'tefan murmured. 8is
!oice trailed off into a labored breath, but he was
still smiling. 8is eyes were serene.
"'tand away from them," "lena said, her
!oice coming simultaneously to Bonnie's ears
and her mind. &t was like the chiming of dozens
of bells, distant and close u$ at once. "&t's o!er
now, :laus."
But :laus rallied quickly. Bonnie saw his
shoulders swell with a breath, noticed for the
first time the hole in the back of the tan raincoat
where the white ash stake had $ierced him. &t
was stained dull red, and new blood was flowing
now as :laus flung out his arms.
"/ou think &'m afraid of you." he shouted. 8e
s$un around, laughing at all the $allid forms.
"/ou think &'m afraid of any of you. /ou're
dead4 6ust on the wind4 /ou can't touch me4"
"/ou're wrong," "lena said in her wind5chime
!oice.
"&'m one of the +ld +nes4 #n +riginal4 6o
you know what that means." :laus turned again,
addressing all of them, his unnaturally blue eyes
seeming to catch some of the red glow of the
fire. "I've never died. "!ery one of you has died,
you gallery of s$ooks4 But not me. 6eath can't
touch me. & am invincible4"
The last word came in a shout so loud it
echoed among the trees. Invincible=
invincible= invincible. Bonnie heard it fading
into the hungry sound of the fire.
"lena waited until the last echo had died.
Then she said, !ery sim$ly, "ot quite." 'he
turned to look at the misty sha$es around her.
"8e wants to s$ill more blood here."
# new !oice s$oke u$, a hollow !oice that ran
like a trickle of cold water down Bonnie's s$ine.
"There's been enough killing, & say." &t was a
Anion soldier with a double row of buttons on
his jacket.
"%ore than enough," said another !oice, like
the boom of a faraway drum. # Confederate
holding a bayonet.
"&t's time somebody sto$$ed it"*an old man
in home5dyed butternut cloth.
"(e can't let it go on"*the drummer boy
with the black holes for eyes.
"o more blood s$illed4" 'e!eral !oices took
it u$ at once. "o more killing4" The cry $assed
from one to another, until the swell of sound was
louder than the roar of the fire. "o more
blood4"
"&ou can't touch me4 /ou can't kill me4"
",et's take 'im, boys4"
Bonnie ne!er knew who ga!e that last
command. But he was obeyed by all,
Confederate and Anion soldiers alike. They were
rising, flowing, dissol!ing into mist again, a dark
mist with a hundred hands. &t bore down on
:laus like an ocean wa!e, dashing itself on him
and engulfing him. "ach hand took hold, and
although :laus was fighting and thrashing with
arms and legs, they were too many for him. &n
seconds he was obscured by them, surrounded,
swallowed by the dark mist. &t rose, whirling like
a tornado from which screams could be heard
only faintly.
"/ou can't kill me4 &'m immortal4"
The tornado swe$t away into the darkness
beyond Bonnie's sight. 1ollowing it was a trail
of ghosts like a comet's tail, shooting off into the
night sky.
"(here are they taking him." Bonnie didn't
mean to say it aloud) she just blurted it out
before she thought. But "lena heard.
"(here he won't do any harm," she said, and
the look on her face sto$$ed Bonnie from asking
any other questions.
There was a squealing, bleating sound from
the other side of the clearing. Bonnie turned and
saw Tyler, in his terrible $art5human, $art5animal
sha$e, on his feet. There was no need for
Caroline's club. 8e was staring at "lena and the
few remaining ghostly figures and gibbering.
"6on't let them take me4 6on't let them take
me too4"
Before "lena could s$eak, he had s$un
around. 8e regarded the fire, which was higher
than his own head, for an instant, then $lunged
right through it, crashing into the forest beyond.
Through a $arting of the flames, Bonnie saw
him dro$ to the ground, beating out flames on
himself, then rise and run again. Then the fire
flared u$ and she couldn't see anything more.
But she'd remembered something2 %eredith*
and %att. %eredith was lying $ro$$ed u$, her
head in Caroline's la$, watching. %att was still
on his back. 8urt, but not so badly hurt as
'tefan.
""lena," Bonnie said, catching the bright
figure's attention, and then she sim$ly looked at
him.
The brightness came closer. 'tefan didn't
blink. 8e looked into the heart of the light and
smiled. "8e's been sto$$ed now. Thanks to you."
"&t was Bonnie who called us. #nd she
couldn't ha!e done it at the right $lace and the
right time without you and the others."
"& tried to kee$ my $romise."
"& know, 'tefan."
Bonnie didn't like the sound of this at all. &t
sounded too much like a farewell*a $ermanent
one. 8er own words floated back to her2 .e
might go to another #lace or*or 6ust go out.
#nd she didn't want 'tefan to go anywhere.
'urely anyone who looked that much like an
angel9
""lena," she said, "can't you*do something.
Can't you hel$ him." 8er !oice was shaking.
#nd "lena's e-$ression as she turned to look
at Bonnie, gentle but so sad, was e!en more
distressing. &t reminded her of someone, and
then she remembered. 8onoria 1ell. 8onoria's
eyes had looked like that, as if she were looking
at all the inesca$able wrongs in the world. #ll
the unfairness, all the things that shouldn't ha!e
been, but were.
"& can do something," she said. "But & don't
know if it's the kind of hel$ he wants." 'he
turned back to 'tefan. "'tefan, & can cure what
:laus did. Tonight & ha!e that much <ower. But &
can't cure what :atherine did."
Bonnie's numbed brain struggled with this for
a while. (hat :atherine did*but 'tefan had
reco!ered months ago from :atherine's torture
in the cry$t. Then she understood. (hat
:atherine had done was make 'tefan a !am$ire.
"&t's been too long," 'tefan was saying to
"lena. "&f you did cure it, &'d be a $ile of dust."
"/es." "lena didn't smile, just went on
looking at him steadily. "6o you want my hel$,
'tefan."
"To go on li!ing in this world in the
shadows9" 'tefan's !oice was a whis$er now,
his green eyes distant. Bonnie wanted to shake
him. :ive, she thought to him, but she didn't dare
say it for fear she'd make him decide just the
o$$osite. Then she thought of something else.
"To go on trying," she said, and both of them
looked at her. 'he looked back, chin thrust out,
and saw the beginning of a smile on "lena's
bright li$s. "lena turned to 'tefan, and that tiny
hint of a smile $assed to him.
"/es," he said quietly, and then, to "lena, "&
want your hel$."
'he bent and kissed him.
Bonnie saw the brightness flow from her to
'tefan, like a ri!er of s$arkling light engulfing
him. &t flooded o!er him the way the dark mist
had surrounded :laus, like a cascade of
diamonds, until his entire body glowed like
"lena's.
1or an instant Bonnie imagined she could see
the blood inside him turned molten, flowing out
to each !ein, each ca$illary, healing e!erything it
touched. Then the glow faded to a golden aura,
soaking back into 'tefan's skin. 8is shirt was
still demolished, but underneath the flesh was
smooth and firm. Bonnie, feeling her own eyes
wide with wonder, couldn't hel$ reaching out to
touch.
&t felt just like any skin. The horrible wounds
were gone.
'he laughed aloud with sheer e-citement, and
then looked u$, sobering. ""lena*there's
%eredith, too*"
The bright being that was "lena was already
mo!ing across the clearing. %eredith looked u$
at her from Caroline's la$.
"8ello, "lena," she said, almost normally,
e-ce$t that her !oice was so weak.
"lena bent and kissed her. The brightness
flowed again, encom$assing %eredith. #nd
when it faded, %eredith stood u$ on her own
two feet.
Then "lena did the same thing with %att, who
woke u$, looking confused but alert. 'he kissed
Caroline too, and Caroline sto$$ed shaking and
straightened.
Then she went to 6amon.
8e was still lying where he had fallen. The
ghosts had $assed o!er him, taking no notice of
him. "lena's brightness ho!ered o!er him, one
shining hand reaching to touch his hair. Then she
bent and kissed the dark head on the ground.
#s the s$arkling light faded, 6amon sat u$
and shook his head. 8e saw "lena and went still,
then, e!ery mo!ement careful and self5
contained, stood u$. 8e didn't say anything, only
looked as "lena turned back to 'tefan.
8e was silhouetted against the fire. Bonnie
had scarcely noticed how the red glow had
grown so that it almost ecli$sed "lena's gold.
But now she saw it and felt a thrill of alarm.
"%y last gift to you," "lena said, and it began
to rain.
ot a thunder5and5lightning storm, but a
thorough $attering rain that soaked e!erything*
Bonnie included*and doused the fire. &t was
fresh and cool, and it seemed to wash all the
horror of the last hours away, cleansing the glade
of e!erything that had ha$$ened there. Bonnie
tilted her face u$ to it, shutting her eyes, wanting
to stretch out her arms and embrace it. #t last it
slackened and she looked again at "lena.
"lena was looking at 'tefan, and there was no
smile on her li$s now. The wordless sorrow was
back in her face.
"&t's midnight," she said. "#nd & ha!e to go."
Bonnie knew instantly, at the sound of it, that
"go" didn't just mean for the moment. "3o"
meant fore!er. "lena was going somewhere that
no trance or dream could reach.
#nd 'tefan knew it too.
"=ust a few more minutes," he said, reaching
for her.
"&'m sorry*"
""lena, wait*& need to tell you*"
"& can't4" 1or the first time the serenity of that
bright face was destroyed, showing not only
gentle sadness but tearing grief. "'tefan, & can't
wait. &'m so sorry." &t was as if she were being
$ulled backward, retreating from them into some
dimension that Bonnie could not see. %aybe the
same $lace 8onoria went when her task was
finished, Bonnie thought. To be at $eace.
But "lena's eyes didn't look as if she were at
$eace. They clung to 'tefan, and she reached out
her hand toward his, ho$elessly. They didn't
touch. (here!er "lena was being $ulled was too
far away.
""lena*#lease4" &t was the !oice 'tefan had
called her with in his room. #s if his heart was
breaking.
"'tefan," she cried, both hands held out to
him now. But she was diminishing, !anishing.
Bonnie felt a sob swell in her own chest, close
her own throat. &t wasn't fair. #ll they had e!er
wanted was to be together. #nd now "lena's
reward for hel$ing the town and finishing her
task was to be se$arated from 'tefan irre!ocably.
&t just wasn't !air.
"'tefan," "lena called again, but her !oice
came as if from a long distance. The brightness
was almost gone. Then, as Bonnie stared
through hel$less tears, it winked out.
,ea!ing the clearing silent once again. They
were all gone, the ghosts of 1ell's Church who
had walked for one night to kee$ more blood
from being s$illed. The bright s$irit that had led
them had !anished without a trace, and e!en the
moon and stars were co!ered by clouds.
Bonnie knew that the wetness on 'tefan's face
wasn't due to the rain that was still s$lashing
down.
8e was standing, chest hea!ing, looking at the
last $lace where "lena's brightness had been
seen. #nd all the longing and the $ain Bonnie
had glim$sed on his face at times before was
nothing to what she saw now.
"&t isn't fair," she whis$ered. Then she shouted
it to the sky, not caring who she was addressing.
"&t isn't fair4"
'tefan had been breathing more and more
quickly. ow he lifted his face too, not in anger
but in unbearable $ain. 8is eyes were searching
the clouds as if he might find some last trace of
golden light, some flicker of brightness there. 8e
couldn't. Bonnie saw the s$asm go through him,
like the agony of :laus's stake. #nd the cry that
burst out of him was the most terrible thing she'd
e!er heard. "lena4"
Sixteen
Bonnie ne!er could quite remember how the
ne-t few seconds went. 'he heard 'tefan's cry
that almost seemed to shake the earth beneath
her. 'he saw 6amon start toward him. #nd then
she saw the flash.
# flash like :laus's lightning, only not blue5
white. This one was gold.
#nd so bright Bonnie felt that the sun had
e-$loded in front of her eyes. #ll she could
make out for se!eral seconds were whirling
colors. #nd then she saw something in the
middle of the clearing, near the chimney stack.
'omething white, sha$ed like the ghosts, only
more solid looking. 'omething small and
huddled that had to be anything but what her
eyes were telling her it looked like.
Because it looked like a slender naked girl
trembling on the forest floor. # girl with golden
hair.
&t looked like "lena.
ot the glowing, candle5lit "lena of the s$irit
world and not the $ale, inhumanly beautiful girl
who had been "lena the !am$ire. This was an
"lena whose creamy skin was blotching $ink
and showing gooseflesh under the s$atter of the
rain. #n "lena who looked bewildered as she
slowly raised her head and gazed around her, as
if all the familiar things in the clearing were
unfamiliar to her.
&t's an illusion. "ither that or they ga!e her a
few minutes to say good5bye. Bonnie ke$t
telling herself that, but she couldn't make herself
belie!e it.
"Bonnie." said a !oice uncertainly. # !oice
that wasn't like wind chimes at all. The !oice of
a frightened young girl.
Bonnie's knees ga!e out. # wild feeling was
growing inside her. 'he tried to $ush it away, not
daring to e!en e-amine it yet. 'he just watched
"lena.
"lena touched the grass in front of her.
8esitantly at first, then more and more firmly,
quicker and quicker. 'he $icked u$ a leaf in
fingers that seemed clumsy, $ut it down, $atted
the ground. 'natched it u$ again. 'he grabbed a
whole handful of wet lea!es, held them to her,
smelled them. 'he looked u$ at Bonnie, the
lea!es scattering away.
1or a moment, they just knelt and stared at
each other from the distance of a few feet. Then,
tremulously, Bonnie stretched out her hand. 'he
couldn't breathe. The feeling was growing and
growing.
"lena's hand came u$ in turn. 7eached toward
Bonnie's. Their fingers touched.
7eal fingers. &n the real world. (here they
both were.
Bonnie ga!e a kind of scream and threw
herself on "lena.
&n a minute she was $atting her e!erywhere in
a frenzy, with wild, disbelie!ing delight. #nd
"lena was solid. 'he was wet from the rain and
she was shi!ering and Bonnie's hands didn't go
through her. Bits of dam$ leaf and crumbs of soil
were clinging to "lena's hair.
"/ou're here," she sobbed. "& can touch you,
"lena4"
"lena gas$ed back, "& can touch you4 &'m
here4" 'he grabbed the lea!es again. "& can touch
the ground4"
"& can see you touching it4" They might ha!e
ke$t this u$ indefinitely, but %eredith
interru$ted. 'he was standing a few ste$s away,
staring, her dark eyes enormous, her face white.
'he made a choking sound.
"%eredith4" "lena turned to her and held out
handfuls of lea!es. 'he o$ened her arms.
%eredith, who had been able to co$e when
"lena's body was found in the ri!er, when "lena
had a$$eared at her window as a !am$ire, when
"lena had materialized in the clearing like an
angel, just stood there, shaking. 'he looked
about to faint.
"%eredith, she's solid4 /ou can touch her4
'ee." Bonnie $ummeled "lena again joyfully.
%eredith didn't mo!e. 'he whis$ered, "&t's
im$ossible*"
"&t's true4 'ee. &t's true4" Bonnie was getting
hysterical. 'he knew she was, and she didn't
care. &f anyone had a right to get hysterical, it
was her. "&t's true, it's true," she caroled.
"%eredith, come see."
%eredith, who had been staring at "lena all
this while, made another choked sound. Then,
with one motion, she flung herself down on
"lena. 'he touched her, found that her hand met
the resistance of flesh. 'he looked into "lena's
face. #nd then she burst into uncontrollable
tears.
'he cried and cried, her head on "lena's naked
shoulder.
Bonnie gleefully $atted both of them.
"6on't you think she'd better $ut something
on." said a !oice, and Bonnie looked u$ to see
Caroline taking off her dress. Caroline did it
rather calmly, standing in her beige $olyester
sli$ afterward as if she did this sort of thing all
the time. o imagination, Bonnie thought again,
but without malice. Clearly there were times
when no imagination was an ad!antage.
%eredith and Bonnie $ulled the dress o!er
"lena's head. 'he looked small inside it, wet and
somehow unnatural, as if she wasn't used to
clothing anymore. But it was some $rotection
from the elements, anyway.
Then "lena whis$ered, "'tefan."
'he turned. 8e was standing there, with
6amon and %att, a little a$art from the girls. 8e
was just watching her. #s if not only his breath,
but his life was held, waiting.
"lena got u$ and took a tottery ste$ to him,
and then another and another. 'lim and newly
fragile inside her borrowed dress, she wa!ered
as she mo!ed toward him. ,ike the little
mermaid learning how to use her legs, Bonnie
thought.
8e let her get almost all the way there, just
staring, before he stumbled toward her. They
ended in a rush and then fell to the ground
together, arms locked around each other, each
holding on as tightly as $ossible. either of
them said a word.
#t last "lena $ulled back to look at 'tefan,
and he cu$$ed her face between his hands, just
gazing back at her. "lena laughed aloud for
sheer joy, o$ening and closing her own fingers
and looking at them in delight before burying
them in 'tefan's hair. Then they kissed.
Bonnie watched unabashedly, feeling some of
the heady joy s$ill o!er into tears. 8er throat
ached, but these were sweet tears, not the salt
tears of $ain, and she was still smiling. 'he was
filthy, she was soaking wet, she had ne!er been
so ha$$y in her life. 'he felt as if she wanted to
dance and sing and do all sorts of crazy things.
'ome time later "lena looked u$ from 'tefan
to all of them, her face almost as bright as when
she'd floated in the clearing like an angel.
'hining like starlight. o one will e!er call her
&ce <rincess again, Bonnie thought.
"%y friends," "lena said. &t was all she said,
but it was enough, that and the queer little sob
she ga!e as she held out a hand to them. They
were around her in a second, swarming her, all
trying to embrace at once. "!en Caroline.
""lena," Caroline said, "&'m sorry9"
"&t's all forgotten now," "lena said, and
hugged her as freely as anyone else. Then she
gras$ed a sturdy brown hand and held it briefly
to her cheek. "%att," she said, and he smiled at
her, blue eyes swimming. But not with misery at
seeing her in 'tefan's arms, Bonnie thought. =ust
now %att's face e-$ressed only ha$$iness.
# shadow fell o!er the little grou$, coming
between them and the moonlight. "lena looked
u$, and held out her hand again.
"6amon," she said.
The clear light and shining lo!e in her face
was irresistible. +r it should ha!e been
irresistible, Bonnie thought. But 6amon ste$$ed
forward unsmiling, his black eyes as bottomless
and unfathomable as e!er. one of the starlight
that shone from "lena was reflected back from
them.
'tefan looked u$ at him fearlessly, as he'd
looked into the $ainful brilliance of "lena's
golden brightness. Then, ne!er looking away, he
held out his hand as well.
6amon stood gazing down at them, the two
o$en, fearless faces, the mute offer of their
hands. The offer of connection, warmth,
humanity. othing showed in his own face, and
he was utterly motionless himself.
"Come on, 6amon," %att said softly. Bonnie
looked at him quickly, and saw that the blue eyes
were intent now as they looked at the shadowed
hunter's face.
6amon s$oke without mo!ing. "&'m not like
you."
"/ou're not as different from us as you want
to think," %att said. ",ook," he added, an odd
note of challenge in his !oice, "& know you
killed %r. Tanner in self5defense, because you
told me. #nd & know you didn't come here to
1ell's Church because Bonnie's s$ell dragged
you here, because & sorted the hair and & didn't
make any mistakes. /ou're more like us than you
admit, 6amon. The only thing & don't know is
why you didn't go into 0ickie's house to hel$
her."
6amon sna$$ed, almost automatically,
"Because & wasn't in!ited4"
%emory swe$t o!er Bonnie. 8erself standing
outside 0ickie's house, 6amon standing beside
her. 'tefan's !oice2 Vickie, invite me in. But no
one had in!ited 6amon.
"But how did <laus get in, then*." she
began, following her own thoughts.
"That was Tyler's job, &'m sure," 6amon said
tersely. "(hat Tyler did for :laus in return for
learning how to reclaim his heritage. #nd he
must ha!e in!ited :laus in before we e!er
started guarding the house*$robably before
'tefan and & came to 1ell's Church. :laus was
well $re$ared. That night he was in the house
and the girl was dead before & knew what was
ha$$ening."
"(hy didn't you call for 'tefan." %att said.
There was no accusation in his !oice. &t was a
sim$le question.
"Because there was nothing he could ha!e
done4 & knew what you were dealing with as
soon as & saw it. #n +ld +ne. 'tefan would only
ha!e gotten himself killed*and the girl was $ast
caring, anyway."
Bonnie heard the thread of coldness in his
!oice, and when 6amon turned back to 'tefan
and "lena, his face had hardened. &t was as if
some decision had been made.
"/ou see, &'m not like you," he said.
"&t doesn't matter." 'tefan had still not
withdrawn his hand. either had "lena.
"#nd sometimes the good guys do win," %att
said quietly, encouragingly.
"6amon*" Bonnie began. 'lowly, almost
reluctantly, he turned toward her. 'he was
thinking about that moment when they had been
kneeling o!er 'tefan and he had looked so
young. (hen they had been just 6amon and
Bonnie at the edge of the world.
'he thought, for just one instant, that she saw
stars in those black eyes. #nd she could sense in
him something*some ferment of feelings like
longing and confusion and fear and anger all
mi-ed. But then it was all smoothed o!er again
and his shields were back u$ and Bonnie's
$sychic senses told her nothing. #nd those black
eyes were sim$ly o$aque.
8e turned back to the cou$le on the ground.
Then he remo!ed his jacket and ste$$ed behind
"lena. 8e dra$ed it o!er her shoulders without
touching her.
"&t's a cold night," he said. 8is eyes held
'tefan's a moment as he settled the black jacket
around her.
#nd then he turned to walk into the darkness
between the oak trees. &n an instant Bonnie
heard the rush of wings.
'tefan and "lena wordlessly joined hands
again, and "lena's golden head dro$$ed to
'tefan's shoulder. +!er her hair 'tefan's green
eyes were turned toward the $atch of night
where his brother had disa$$eared.
Bonnie shook her head, feeling a catch in her
throat. &t was eased as something touched her
arm and she looked u$ at %att. "!en soaking
wet, e!en co!ered with bits of moss and fern, he
was a beautiful sight. 'he smiled at him, feeling
her wonder and joy come back. The giddy, dizzy
e-citement as she thought about what had
ha$$ened tonight. %eredith and Caroline were
smiling too, and in an im$ulsi!e burst Bonnie
seized %att's hands and whirled him into a
dance. &n the middle of the clearing they kicked
u$ wet lea!es and s$un and laughed. They were
ali!e, and they were young, and it was the
summer solstice.
"/ou wanted us all back together again4"
Bonnie shouted at Caroline, and $ulled the
scandalized girl into the dance. %eredith, her
dignity forgotten, joined them too.
#nd for a long time in the clearing there was
only rejoicing.
/une 91, 42C5 A.M.
+he "ummer "olstice
,ear ,iary,
(h, it's all too much to e8#lain and you
wouldn't believe it anyway. I'm going to bed.

Bonnie