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Shifting shadows, a subtle change in the pulse and rhythht spread her voluminous cloak across the face of the land

Edward Ra of the sun, all his senses alert He sent his power outward, testing the air, but he detected no hint of danger

He brushed a kiss across Kelly&039;s cheek Her skin was cool She lay unht in the deathlike sleep of their kind

Their kind I am a vampire Even now, it was still hard to believe

He sh he knew she would awaken soon, even though he knew her utter stillness was nor to see her like that, vulnerable and helpless - and ht in the Dark Sleep, he was just as vulnerable, just as helpless

She stirred a short ti She s down at her "Hello, husband"

"Hello, wife"

She rolled over, draping her body across his, her fingertips trailing up and down his thigh "We didn&039;t get ht, did we?"

Raht"

She s my mind?"

"I hope so"

Ra hers, his handswas sometimes tender and sweet and soed with a fierce hunger His power rose within hi every sensation He breathed in the scent of her skin, closed his eyes as he tasted her lips It crossed his mind that, if not for Marisa and Chiavari, he would never have met Kelly He would have been dead these pastthe joy he had found in Kelly&039;s arainst his like a living fla his desire She whispered erotic suggestions in his ear, some that ickedly funny, some inventive but quite impossible, even for a vampire

He took pleasure in her release, in the way her body shuddered beneath his, in the touch of her fangs at his throat His own release came soon after, an explosion that rocked hihtened by the rich, coppery taste of her blood on his tongue

Awash in contentment, he held her close in his arer

Kelly drew back so she could see his face "Do you think it&039;s safe to go out?"

"I hope so" He offered her a wry grin "We could hunt in the hotel, I guess"

"Yeah, right"

"We need to go out, anyway," Ramsey said "We have to find Marisa and Duncan"

"Do you really think Khira can be destroyed? That we can destroy her?"

"I don&039;t know, but we have to try She has to be stopped She is as bad as Kristov ever was Hell, she&039;s worse"

"You&039;re not a hunter any her before, they&039;re gone now" He swore under his breath "She has to be stopped before she kills us all"

Grigori rested deep in the heart of the earth, letting its wary flow into hi it out into the vast reaches of the night He felt Ramsey&039;s determination to destroy Khira, Kelly&039;s trepidation He closed his eyes as his senses brushed the essence that was Marisa Marisa, so war And over all, the evil canker of Khira&039;s anger, spreading across the city like a dark stain, polluting everything it touched

He stirred as the sun went down, drawn to the surface by the heartbeat of the city, a low quiet thru him to rise, to feed

It was a call he could not refuse Not nohen the need for blood was pounding through him, merciless, relentless

He burst forth froth and a powerful thirst A thought took hirounds at the beach He prowled the darkened streets until he found a young couple necking in a late-model convertible His mind closed on theirs, held them immobile while he quickly took what he wanted What he needed What he craved

When he had drunk his fill, he wiped his memory from their minds, released the shadows of the night

Marisa se of clothes A hundred dollars for a new dress, and it was ruined, stained with dirt and with Duncan&039;s blood "How&039;s your hand?"

"Okay, I guess Hurts a little"

"You probably need soed "Too late now"

She jumped, startled, when someone knocked on the door

"Relax," Duncan said "It&039;s probably just the pizza"

She nodded They had considered going out for so to eat but, in the end, had decided to play it safe and stay in While she showered and washed her hair, Tom had called out and ordered a couple of pizzas

Duncan went to the door "Who is it?"

"Ralanced over his shoulder at Marisa

"Maybe we shouldn&039;t let hier from Edward, but after what she had seen at the park, she wasn&039;t feeling any too safe

"I trust Ramsey," Duncan said "If he wanted to kill ht"

To so there

"So, are you going to invite us in?" Ramsey asked, one brow raised in amusement

"Sure, come on in, " Duncan said, and stood back to adlanced froht-blue sweater and a pair of black jeans; Kelly wore a bloodred sweater and a pair of white pants Frolow in their cheeks, it was obvious both had fed recently

For a h to cut

It was Duncan who broke the silence "What brings you here, Ed?"

"What the hell do you think?" Ramsey retorted "We need to talk"

With a nod, Duncan shut the door and slid the bolt hoht as well sit down and be co hands

Marisa sat in the roo curled beneath her "Have you seen Grigori?"

Ramsey shook his head "I tried to locate him, but I couldn&039;t He&039;s put up a mind block"

Marisa leaned forward "You don&039;t think he&039;s" She couldn&039;t say the word

"No"

"Why would he shut his ainst me?"

Kelly reached out and squeezed Marisa&039;s hand "I&039;m sure it&039;s to protect you froaze settled on Ramsey "Are you ready to tellat the LaSalletoward the door "Someone&039;s here" He lifted his head and sniffed the air "Did you order a pizza?"

Duncan nodded A moment later, there was a knock on the door Duncan opened the door a crack and looked out, then opened the door He paid for the pizzas, handed the boxes to Marisa, then closed and locked the door

Marisa set the boxes on top of the dresser The first was ha in tomato sauce It rery as I thought," sheaway

"I used to love pizza," Kelly ree and pepperoni Leaning one hip against the edge of the dresser, he wolfed it down Looking at Rarabbed another slice and then sat down on the bed again

"So," he said betweenat the LaSalle place?"

"She saw it She decided she wanted it" Raed "She took it"

Duncan wiped his hand across his mouth "What about LaSalle?"

Ramsey snorted disdainfully "He left without a whirabbed his third slice of pizza and o pay her a little visit tooing with me"

Ramsey nodded "I wish I could"

"You would be wiser," reori!" Ju to her feet, Marisa hurled herself into his arms when he suddenly appeared in the middle of the room "Where have you been? How are you?" She ran her hands up his ar his face "Are you all right?"

"Cara, you worry toohis head, he kissed her tenderly

She leaned into hiotten He was here; he ell For now, that was all thatelse faded into the distance, swept away by the heat spiraling through her, by the sweet ecstasy of his lips on hers, his ar her

Ramsey&039;s voice penetrated the haze of passion "You two coet their own rooroarori s her into his arms, he sat down in the chair she had vacated, and settled her on his lap

"You left her?" Ramsey asked, one brow raised in disbelief "You left Khira? What about Marisa?"

"I&039;ori "Not as long as you&039;re here"

Chiavari&039;s arer than the rest of us now Khira intends to kill us All of us"

Duncan swore softly "Like hell"

"Exactly," Ramsey said He looked at Duncan and sain, after all"

The room fell silent a moment Ramsey squeezed Kelly&039;s hand He could feel her fear She wasn&039;t the only one as afraid, he thought They all were

"We need a plan," Ramsey said "Khira&039;s powerful, and she&039;s sht"

Duncan nodded "It&039;ll have to be during the day"

"Maybe," Chiavari said "And aze searching Grigori&039;s face "You don&039;t intend to fight her at night, when she&039;s at her strongest?"

"Maybe you would rather not be involved," Ra Chiavari "You and Khira share a lot of history"

"She cannot be allowed to go on as she is," Grigori said quietly "She is a danger, not only to us, but to everyone in the city"

"So, we&039;re agreed," Raori nodded, his ar around Marisa He would do whatever he had to do to keep her safe

"So," Raot a plan," Duncan said "I&039;ll go in tomorrow afternoon, stake her, and take her head What could be siori said dryly "You don&039;t knohat you&039;re dealing with here"

"She&039;s a vampire, isn&039;t she?" Duncan retorted "I don&039;t care hoerful she is A stake through the heart will stop her clock, just like anybody else&039;s"

Darkness ori&039;s eyes "I a, va the disdain in the last tords "How have you hunted us for so long and learned so little?"

Duncan stood up "I&039;ve made ten kills," he said "Ten kills in almost fifteen years She&039;ll ori said, his voice as hard and cold as ice "Try and take her We will bury what is left of you, if there is anything left to find"

"What&039;s that supposed to

"It means you are a fool if you think you will be able to walk into her lair, find her, and stake her She has not survived a thousand years by being careless or foolish"

"We knohere she lives It shouldn&039;t be that hard to break in"

"You do not know if she rests there," Grigori said, his voice filled with conteuards her lair while she sleeps"

Duncan glanced at Raht," Raood sense" He held up his hand, silencing the protest he saw in Duncan&039;s eyes "I know you better than anyone, Toood man, a capable hunter And ten kills is an iainst a vampire as powerful as Khira, believe me I&039;ve felt her power I knohat she can do"

"He&039;s right," Grigori added "As for being vulnerable during the daylight hours, she told ht has little power over her any to find a" He glanced at Marisa "A sleeping corpse, you ed vaer than any ht, you convinced uess we still need a plan"

Khira stor and killing with relentless fury With each life she snuffed froht of life&039;s blood, her strength increased - and with it, her rage

Grigori had left her Forsaken her How dare he! Did he really think hiave her pause Perhaps he did, but he would soon realize his folly He had underestieance When she found him this time, she would drain hiiven him the Dark Gift of life, and she would take it from him

Even as she ensnared another victiori He had not even bothered to leave the city but had sione ho Waiting for her He did not see from the wrath to coe, this need to defy her?

Disposing of the last body, she drew in a deep breath and blew it out in a long shuddering sigh She was ready now, impatient for the confrontation to coori

He was not alone with Marisa

The vampyre hunter was there, the one who had dared attack her She lifted a hand to her face, assuring herself that no scars remained from the holy water he had splashed over her She had already ht have a difficult ti him after he had felt her power She smiled They had joined forces, the va it that much easier to find them both Khira discounted Marisa&039;s presence The puny mortal was no threat And it would be such a pleasure, poetic alori&039;s woman after the battle

But where was Ramsey? She searched but could not find hi enough to conceal hiret She had been drawn to Ra power If she had concentratedher against Grigori and the hunter, Duncan