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Sunday h her faith in God had always been strong, she rarely went to Sunday services But nohen her life see out of her control, she felt a sudden need for the peace and tranquillity the church provided

Listening to the soothing words of fa the ation, she felt a sense of peace, of renewal, and wondered why she had stayed away so long

She gazed up at the stained-glassover the altar It was a beautiful piece of art, depicting the Savior of the world holding a tiny white larazed on a hillside

Sitting there, it was hard to believe the events of the past week, hard to believe that vampires and vampire hunters could possibly exist

She felt refreshed in mind and spirit when she left the church

At ho with her parents They ell, happily involved in bridge games and tennis tournaments

Her mother wanted to know if she had found anyone special yet; her father wanted to kno things were going at work She pro up, then called her brother in Colorado

Mike answered the phone, and they talked for a fewup on each other&039;s lives Marisa talked to her nieces and nephews, asked Mike&039;s wife, Barbara, what Nikki wanted for her birthday; then she went into the kitchen to fix lunch

Hu softly, she mixed mayonnaise with a can of tuna

She fixed a sandwich, then went into the front room and sat on the floor to read the paper

VAMPIRE KILLER STRIKES AGAIN, DEATH TOLL RISES TO 13

That quickly, her sense of well-being was destroyed

She read as beco woman had been found in the foothills behind Griffith Park, her body drained of blood There had been no sign of a struggle, no evidence of foul play save for two tiny wounds in her neck

Her appetite gone, Marisa put her sandwich aside, hating herself for wondering if Grigori was responsible for any of the deaths

She didn&039;t like to think of the dark side of Grigori, didn&039;t like to admit she was physically attracted to a man asn&039;t even alive in the normal sense of the word And yet he seemed so alive, so vital And she cared for him far ht, felt his grief and his pain as she co the day, if his sleep was interspersed with dreams, or if he was shrouded in the silent darkness of death

She wondered what her parents would say if she told thelanced at the clock Almost two She wondered why Raed Even vaht crossed her

"Hello?"

"Miss Richards?"

"Hi, Edward Are you all right?"

"Yes, fine" She heard hiht"

"Did you find anything?"

"No I guess you&039;ve heard the news?"

She glanced at the newspaper and shuddered "Yes It&039;s awful"

He grunted softly "I&039;ll be over before dark"

"All right Bye"

Edward showed up just before sunset They shared a thick-crust pepperoni pizza; then Edward produced a deck of cards and they played canasta Marisa kept glancing at the clock, wondering where Grigori was

At ten, Marisa went into the kitchen andon the sofa, with the bowl between them, they watched the news It seemed that the stories were always the sa une promises they couldn&039;t keep

"And in local news, the bodies of two teenage boys were found in an oil field near Huntington Beach just s attributed to the vaht have inforet in touch with the the number on your screen

"Chief Harrison has issued a state everyone to stay as close to home as possible between the hours of six pm and dawn until further notice When asked if he believed the killings were the work of a vampire, the chief stated an unequivocal No, but said the depart on the assu these cri under that delusion In other news"