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OPERAZIONE PAURA

Passing through the doors of Palazzo Otranto was like stepping into the on Kate felt the laws of the universe bend out of true This was hoas in the Royal Presence

Marcello noticed her hesitation They held up traffic A press of guests built outside the doors, like the fizz behind a chah the corridors of the palazzo, pulsing in organ-like cha toward the heart The vaulted ballroorip of red thirst Everyone here, living and dead, was a sack of blood She&039;d gone beyond being glutted by Marcello, and was on the fringe of mania She&039;d seen other vampires in this state, but never been here herself

It wasn&039;t so bad fro scarlet, enlarged by her specs Her teeth were daggers, her fingernails talons She was a bit of a dragon herself

The orchestra played &039;Dracula Cha Cha Cha&039; His Majesty&039;s subjects danced, trailing black and red velvet across a polished mosaic floor Black ostrich plumes bobbed like insect antennae above elaborate headdresses Red jewels sparkled with firelight White faces glowed like stains in the dark

She was entranced

&039;Let&039;s dance,&039; she said to Marcello, taking his ar onto the floor

It was easy to surrender to the music Marcello kept up with her, warily He was blank behind his dark glasses, but she owned him entirely She had made of him a slave, like that poorin 1885 Renfield

he killed the flies to catch the spiders, he killed the spiders to catch the birds, he killed the birds to catch the cats

Dancing was like feeding, drinking the , were creatures like herself Stiff-haired old dental work, leathery wings freed by backless gowns, red eyes lined with blue shadow

These were Dracula&039;s guests

The Prince himself did not need to be in the room He was not a creature of the heart He would be below the, he would rise to be with his subjects

They danced past people she knew Genevieve was in a corner, warily flirting with a handsome vampire Brit who had been at Charles&039;s funeral Penelope was snatching a quick ciggy, looking as fraught as a nanny whose charges are running wild Kate found that a: She had often had to look after little Penny, the pretty terror The only way Penelope could groas if everyone else turned back into children

Orson Welles was sawing a Czechoslovakian blonde in half with a sword, keeping up a constant light patter as he levered the silvered blade through her lovely stoeant Ginko, dressed as waiters, kept an eye out for threats to vahably eroup of people in the world

She caught the rhythm at last

Drac-u-la, Drac-u-la, Dra cha cha cha

Father Merrin, in simple robes with a pro with ue Sebastian Villanueva He was supposed to be in Star City, drea up rocket weapons If Villanueva was even tentatively in the West, that was a story She should find a telephone and call her editor

No, she was dancing

Drac-u-la, Drac-u-la

Tonight, she didn&039;t care about news

Dra cha cha cha

She writhed close to Marcello, elbows on his shoulders, longfingered hands teasing his lightly-oiled hair

Drac-u-la, Drac-u-la, Dra cha cha cha

She licked her ue on her full lips She stuck out her tongue and touched her nose with the pointed tip The trick had soh to distract her fro at poor, staid old Kate Marcello didn&039;t sowas a serious business