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We crouch in the shadoo blocks down the street froh-powered rifle, especially equipped with laser-guided scope and fat silencer At our backs are two gasoline trucks, with two huge tankers hooked on to each one We didn&039;t even have to go to a refinery to steal thes heading toward the freeway I accidentally pulled in front of one and got ed Both drivers cli at theht it! Man, you are going to pay big tiether and took their keys I figure they should be waking up soon, in the dumpster where I dropped them Ray helped me drive one of the tankers back to the warehouse For once, he see himself-the thrill of the hunt Then the sun cao, he has been hiding under a blanket and wiping at his burning eyes He doesn&039;t co the rifle and propthe barrel in the direction of the big black dog closest to our end of the lot Not only do I have to shoot each animal cleanly in the head, I must shoot between the holes in the wire fence A stray bullet could ruin the whole plan The dog growls as if sensing my attention, and I notice the blood that trickles from its saliva and the way it shakes when the sun catches in its eyes Another Eddie Fender sur?prise

An hour before dawn Eddie returned with a dozen partners All together there are twenty-one vampires inside, all powerfully built males With them they have two terrified Caucasian couples-breakfast The four people started screa the moment they were taken inside and didn&039;t stop until their throats were ripped open Ray paced ht then

But I refused to risk the human race for the lives of four people

"I would al beneath the dirty orange cover?ing His blanket is a gift frouy five hundred dollars for it and told hih we are well shaded by a nearby brick wall, Ray&039;s brow is covered by a fil His bloodshot eyes look as if they have been sprayed with kerosene

"If it&039;s any consolation," I say, "these dogs are worse than rabid"

"What do you iven thes?"

"It could be worse It could be va the ocean We&039;d never be able to find the up north after this is all over?"

"Sure We can go salton And you&039;ll be pleased to know you won&039;t need a fishing rod to catch theo fishing with my dad"

"I did the same with my father," I say truthfully Before Yaksha killed my father Yaksha-where can his body be? And what shape is it in? Doubt continues to plague , I whisper to Ray, "I&039; to do them quickly Don&039;t speak to &039;s cruel eye through entle swish of air My caliber is s&039;s head comes off Silently it topples over Its partners hardly notice But they will soon enough They will s infected with Eddie&039;s blood, they ive the between shots, Iall nine in less than a minute I set the rifle down and pick up my wire cutters

"Stay here until I return," I say "Then be ready toto plan, we&039;ll be out of here in ten minutes"

Barefoot, soundlessly, I scurry toward the tall fence Fortune continues to favor us The hour is early and the street remains deserted We are not all that far from the Coliseum, perhaps twoa hole in the fence would be unnecessary if I just wanted to ra leap to safety I have vetoed this idea for two reasons I worry that Ray, in his weakened condition, would end up getting killed Also, I believe a et all the vampires My sensitive nose has detere for foae number of polyurethane sheets inside Polyurethane is extremely flammable It is our inten?tion to quietly park our trucks at either end of the building, light the ten-second fuses attached to the explosive caps I have brought from ht between two crushing waves of expanding flame Behind the warehouse stands the tall brick wall of another abandoned building The fire will sainst that wall and cut off any chance of a rear escape And if by chance any of the va for theo down as easily as the dogs It is a good plan and it should work

Still, I worry

Kneeling by the fence, I quickly begin to cut the wires, searching for guards, or a head appearing at one of the filthy s, or any sign of movement inside All is silent and calm Eddie&039;s newly made vampires are undoubtedly sensitive to the sun and probably can&039;t stand guard after dawn He may be overconfi?dent of his powers-that is my real hope My cutters click like sharp electronic pulses over a telephone line Soon I around In less than five h to drive our trucks through I retreat to Ray and the tankers Huddling under his blanket, he peers up at me with feverish eyes

"Wish it were a cloudy day," he mutters

I nod "An eclipse would be even better" I offer hiets up slowly, his blanket still wrapped around his head, and studies my handiwork from afar "Are they all asleep?"

"They seem to be"

"Are you sure Eddie&039;s still inside?"

"I saw hio in I never saw him co "We ood a chance We have to strike now and we have to strike hard"

He nods "Agreed" He limps toward his truck, and I help him into the driver&039;s seat "You know, Sita, I don&039;t have a license to drive this big a rig What we&039;re doing is against the law"

"There are human laws and there are God&039;s laws We may not be thethe best we can"

He studies me seriously, his entire face now flushed red, soaked in sweat "Is that true? Is there anything good we can give to the world?"

I hug hi here will have been justified a thousand tiirl die"

He wraps his arm around me "It wasn&039;t your fault"

"I&039;m sorry I killed your father"

"Sita" He holds th "You&039;re five thousand years old You have too much history You have to learn to live in the present"

I s Despite all I have seen and done, he is the wise one Reaching up, I brush his hair aside, out of his eyes, and then all at once I aain

"You do remind me of Rama," I whisper in his ear "So much so that you must be hiether- always"

He doesn&039;t answer right away, and I pull back slightly to see what thein the direction of the sun, although not directly, since we are still in the shade But I would think the move would just hurt his eyes htfully "So vast" He turns back to me and chuckles softly "We&039;re like those vampire fish, lost in that ocean"

I frown "Ray?"

"I was just thinking of Krishna" He squeezes lances at the warehouse "You want o to the south side?"

"Yes, to the left Follow htly ajar Don&039;t let it bang Kill the engine as you pass the gate and coast in Park as close as you can to the building Don&039;t close your door when you get out As soon as you can, light the fuse and run I will hear it burning and light mine If they try to escape, I will cut theo fishing" I pause, wanting to add so what it is "Be careful, Ray"

"You, too, Sita" He touches his heart "Love you"

I touch mine The pain is back; it is hard to breathe

Maybe it is a sign from God

"Love you," I say

We cruise toward the warehouse, ate easily acco flattens as the front wheel of the rig rolls over it Turning off the engine, I allowMy maneuver is trickier than his, and for that reason I have chosen it I have to swing around the side of the building rather than slide straight in But there are few human devices I a-distance truckers over the years that one could say the skill is deep in my veins I complete the turn smoothly and park and climb out My two tankers stand less than five feet fro Out the corner of my eye I notice an ice-cream truck parked down the block

Still, all is cal

Ray&039;s truck, on the far side of the building, has also halted I hear hi and walk toward the rear of the tanks where I have set the fuse Yet I hear hi I count my heartbeats and wait for him to complete his task

But all is quiet The fuse stays unlit

My heart begins to pound

My rifle overin Ray&039;s direction Sonitewhat the probleasoline from a distance-at least not easily A bullet may or may not acco the fuel It is a paradox once again-my whole life is After a moment to consider, I reach out and unscrew the cap at the bottoushes out The warehouse rests on an incline,around the co, the volatile fuel followsmy bare feet I fear the fumes will alert whoever is inside, yet feel I have no choice The gasoline runs ahead of me, doard the other truck Our bombs will become one

Now I see Ray&039;s truck, but I do not see hi slowly,precedethe status re peacefully, their bellies full, their drea red There is someone behind the truck, however Two people,One is calainst a hand clamped over hisin wait for us He has caught Ray and is holding hi on the step that leads up into the cab Eddie is waiting for me to come for Ray, to poke my head out Then he will pounce I have made the mistake I swore I would not make I have underestimated an enemy

It was all a setup Eddie wanted to trap me

Yet I do not panic I don&039;t have tirown h Eddie is stronger than I, his senses are not as keen He may not be aware that I am aware of hiain I consider quickly I can coht Or I can coerous reatest element of surprise I favor it But I will not siht over it Holdingstrides before the truck and then kick up vigor-ously, as long ju over a respectable chunk of the lot, over the truck cabin, I turn inthe muzzle to bear where I calculate Eddie will be But I a fast, very fast, and when I reach the other side of the truck, near the end of my doard arc, they are not there Damn

So startled a as I hit the ground It takes s And in that time Eddie casually walks out fro him as a shield, his bony hands wrapped around my lover&039;s neck Eddie&039;s speed continues to aed to move out of harm&039;s way Yet it is not only his superior reflexes that shock me, but his ability to anticipate my ? After all, we are both predators He shakes Ray to let rip is deadly For his part Ray appears calm He believes I will save hirins