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M ark Davidson watched the couple at the bar, who seemed to be like any couple at any bar

The man leaned toward the woman She was pretty, in a tube top that displayed sculpted abs and a short skirt that afforded a long look at longer legs She batted her lashes now and then, lowering her head, offering a shy, even rueful, smile to the man at her side He was tall, and dark Despite his apparent ease with her flirtation, there seey that, to Mark, at least, suggested soether, teased each other Body language She&039;d been looking for so; he&039;d definitely been set on action

"Another drink, sir?" Momentarily, he was distracted by the waitress, an attractive but older woure Her voice was polite but also weary, he thought Maybe it hadn&039;t been easy for her over the last few years

"U He&039;d barely touched the beer he&039;d ordered earlier Then again, they needed to uess you don&039;t," she said with a little sigh He had a feeling she was a native Her accent was richly Southern Not that New Orleans was a city where only natives could be found It was the kind of place people simply fell in love with, as if it had a personality all its own Of course, some people loathed the city&039;s free and easy spirit, and, he had to adht during Mardi Gras wasn&039;t exactly a selling point None of that mattered to his and theabout the place

Oh, yeah He loved everything about the place, except for

The waitress was blocking his view, he realized He had chosen a back table, in the shadows He ay fro to the far left of the bar, near the entrance The group was great; Mark would have happily cos he loved most about New Orleans; some of the bestalong the streets Young talent, fine talent, often began their careers playing in Jackson Square or right on any street corner, perfor in the hope that the passersby would be tossed their dollars in a guitar case or a hat

There was so much to love about New Orleans

Like the many ti s of the beer in front of hiritted his teeth He wasn&039;t here to walk down memory lane

"Sure, yeah, another beer Cold, please," he said, trying to look around the waitress But when she one

He leapt to his feet and dug into his pocket for a bill He handed it to her

"Never e," she protested, staring at the fifty he&039;d handed her

"Keep it," he murmured, his eyes already riveted on the door to the street

Out there the world was bright, alive with neon, laughter and the dueling beats of jazz and rock, as thethe sidewalks spilled into the huhts advertised all s see, even if decayed, elegance, despite their cloaks of coles, htly inebriated, bu into one another as they walked Others moved with purpose

He didn&039;t see the couple from the bar, and he swore bitterly to hiirl? It wasn&039;t as if he had to commit murder in a darkened ceht even have a place of his own here Where? Alone, he ht have moved as quickly as the wind But he had the wo him down

"Sir?"

He turned The waitress had followed hiently

She s went left The guy talked her into a late night celow in her eyes "Lots of assholes trying to pick up woht Risky business Drug dealers hang out there-and worse You take care"

"Thanks," he told her "Thank you"

Now that he had a direction, he started running down the street So ht just opt for a hotel room or the courtyard of soainst the pocket of his Chinos He could feel the vial He was armed, as well-conventionally ariven what he was up against

He reached the ceal, but he scaled the fence easily, landing with a soft thud on the other side

As he did, he heard the laughter They were deeper into the grounds, behind the chipping stone and plaster of an above ground to cherubs

"Ooh, this is decadent Creepy, and kind of exciting," a feht here?" she whispered Her voice sounded a little uncertain Now that she had co a little bit bothered by such disrespect for the dead Or ht by the police

"You tell me," the man answered "Do you want to feel irl made a sound Mark couldn&039;t identify, and he clenched his jaw tightly, seeking to control the pain and fury that swept through hiht as well have been hypnotized

"I wantyes" she murmured

Mark crept closer There they were

The irl was stretched out on top of one of the toht The s, his lips teasing the bare flesh of her irl&039;s voice now

"Too late"

"No No!"

"You&039;re very pretty We could have had so ined Too bad that tonightwell, I&039;ry It&039;s been a while for ain She had just realized she was about to die, Mark knew, and she was trying hard to screa to fill her, and she couldn&039;t choke out the agony trapped in her throat

Now!

Mark inhaled, tensing She wouldd be dead any second now if he didn&039;t act He reached into his pocket He sprang

He was in terrific shape, having served with the Marines before putting in several years as a bouncer while getting his oork sold Even so, as fast as he was, the e before he saw the man at the tomb swirl around, ready to meet him, a horrible, twisted lint of the fanglike teeth in the darkness Oddly enough, they had a fascinating opalescent glow

He swore softly to hi with such dogged determination It was another, no doubt equally as bad

His heart sank And, yet

This creature was about to kill He had to ree He couldn&039;t let his guard down; he couldn&039;t falter for an instant

Before he could reach the creature, however, theto shoot me?" he demanded

"Hell no," Mark assured him His vial was full, and it was open He aimed directly into the face and eyes of his opponent

It let out a bloodcurdling cry of rage and astonishment as the holy water bathed its features There was a flutter of shadow and darkness, a weak flapping of wings It took off and crashed hard into a tomb

Mark followed it He drew the small but sharply honed stake he always carried from his pocket, then skewered the s by the toht Dust exploding in the air, cri stopped For aof the luravethen there was nothing Dirt and ash Dust to dust

He stood there, just staring, suddenly shaking as he broke out in a cold sweat

Suddenly the girl started to scream The sound jerked Mark back to reality, the here, the now He turned She was staring at him ild, tear stained eyes, obviously in a state of total shock

"Shut up," he said, sharply but not unkindly

"He was aa vampire!" she said She blinked in disbelief at her oords

"Yes"

"You killed hiasped "Buthe was real" She shook her head "That&039;simpossible"

"I&039; as if she were suffering from a severe chill

"He-he really was a va Someone must have heard her screa for, he added silently

"I don&039;tI can&039;tbelieve this," she said

"We need to get out of here The police are co"

"Shouldn&039;t we stay and reportu to report what happened here?" he asked

She stared at hi "Yes, butno, it isn&039;t real, can&039;t be real, but"

"It is real" He was trying very hard to be patient, but tihed "They won&039;t believe you, though We have to get out of here"

Her jaorked hard as she tried to for, she said, "Get me over the wall, please?"

"Of course Head that way"

He could e football-but she was still so stunned that he felt as if he was dragging dead weight He had to urge her to help herself as he pushed her up the wall, then juht her back down on the sidewalk

Back on solid pave her head "He was really a vaued, then, "Yes," she said

She was going to need soht

"Youyou saved my life I-I-oh, God, I owe youyou"

"You and I both have to get out of here They&039;ll think we&039;re junkies or thieves or so," he said flatly

"Yes, butI need toto thank you so sexual, just grateful and unsure what to do about it

She straightened her spine, still unable to believe what had happened, but trying for proper dignity

"My life You saved "

The patrol cars were nearly at the gates

"You want to do soo off into cerabbed her hand "Let&039;s go"

He ran, pulling her along after him, and stayed with her down Canal Street and all the way to Harrah&039;s

"I don&039;t even know your naently "Go in there Call a friend Go home"

He turned and left her, suddenly exhausted, and ht he&039;d been chasingsomeone But he hadn&039;t been It was that simple

He swore softly

Da upon the world

It occurred to him as he walked wearily back to his hotel that man himself could be considered one of them-even before the taint of pure evil touched upon hi sky He&039;d killed a

"I&039; to be mine, in a world of blood and death and darkness," Deanna Marin whispered darkly

"Oh, for the love of God, cut it out," Lauren Crow pleaded

"Seriously Perhaps we&039;ll open a door to another world, and de darkness and evil into this world," Heidi Weiss said, laughing, unable totone with the saed

Both Deanna and Heidi were staring across the outdoor table at Lauren with ridiculous grins on their faces Of course, they were both holding drinks obtained froh she couldn&039;t relass was in the shape of some kind of nuclear material container and Heidi&039;s looked like a naked man, buns, pecs and all Perhaps due to a combination of alcohol and the ater to visit one of the numerous fortune-tellers orked the area around Jackson Square with their tarot cards and crystal balls at the ready

Lauren was delighted to be there-New Orleans was one of her favorite places in the world Few locations offered such an artistic setting, with not just the visual stimuli but the with the history of the area and liveliness of people filling the very air as New Orleans did

Tonight, however

Maybe it was due to the one Cosiddy, she felt as if a strange sense of dread and darkness had settled over her

"Lauren, what on earth is the matter with you?" Heidi demanded "It&039;s just for fun"

Lauren just didn&039;t like the idea She didn&039;t knohy-she wasn&039;t particularly superstitious-but she had never wanted to have her cards read, let someone see her future in her palm, or receive any other kind of astral or otherworldly advice Ti to worry ahead of tis that could happen

But she hated to be a wet blanket when they were here in New Orleans for a much anticipated pre-bridal shower for Heidi Since they worked together at the artistic concepts coe, it had taken a lot of planning to get all their projects coether

It was Heidi&039;s party, and Lauren had pro went exactly the way Heidi wanted it to But this desire to play with the occult was so her very unco at all this weekend to make me happy Remember, you&039;re my bridesmaid, so you&039;re supposed to be ed about it?" Deanna asked

Lauren didn&039;t knohy, and she kneas silly, but she really didn&039;t want to look into the future

"You can pick whoever we go to How&039;s that?" Heidi asked

"Guys, I just think-"

"You need to do this just so you won&039;t be frightened of a few dramatic effects and some spooky patter," Deanna said

"I&039;m not afraid," Lauren protested quickly, but even as she spoke, she realized that in fact that was exactly it She was afraid

"Really, think about it," Deanna said, "Most of the psychics here are just college kids, trying to make a few bucks Think of all the times we came here to draw, and how badly we needed the money people paid us for our sketches"

"I think you&039;re forgetting the important point here I told you You&039;re supposed to be my slave, remember?" Heidi said

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lauren ht In that case, I think we should see some kind of voodoo queen This is New Orleans, after all"

"And do you know an authentic voodoo queen?" Heidi asked, grinning

Lauren had to s a certain amusement in the question Heidi Weiss had powder blue eyes, platinum hair and a sood hurin was a little lopsided now, but just a little They hadn&039;t been drinking to the point of saturation, only enough not to feel any pain

"We can walk around, look theested

Lookswise, Deanna was the opposite of Heidi, with almond dark eyes, sleek, ale "I&039;ve got it We&039;ll walk around the entire Square to start And then, if we don&039;t see someone Lauren likes, we&039;ll walk the entire French Quarter"

Lauren wondered if Deanna really had that ht Lauren would decide , since she was already-and obviously-exhausted They had arrived that eles, and they hadn&039;t stopped since Lauren always felt very e, but Deanna had grown up in NewYork, and Heidi was froe, but neither Heidi nor Deanna knew the little quirks and twists and turns of the place the way she did They&039;d hit the casino early; then she&039;d been assigned to lead them to every little shop in the French Quarter, every place that wasn&039;t part of a chain Now she was tired and just wanted to get this over with

"There," she said, pointing co at a s the Cathedral She appeared to be older than they were, but beyond that, her age was indeterminate Her hair was tied back with a scarf, and she wore a white peasant shirt and skirt Her face was stunning, with strong features and skin a beautiful shade of gold that spoke of aearnestly to ato the tarot cards she was laying out before her as she spoke She ht have been at a Renaissance fair, rather than the French Quarter of New Orleans Behind her was a small red tent that would have looked at home on a medieval battlefield There was a table just inside it, covered with a cloth that depicted the moon and the stars On the table was a crystal ball

"She already has a customer," Deanna noted

"I&039; She wasn&039;t sure why she had pointed to the woman, but now that she had, she was suddenly determined Suddenly she realized that she did knohy-she would have liked to draw the woo to Mada her head toward a younger worinned Madae student "I like the woood-looking gypsy guy up the street," Heidi said

"You&039;re engaged," Deanna teased her

"Yeah, but you and Lauren could use a guy," Heidi said

"Wow Thanks," Deanna said

"Just what I need, a gypsy," Lauren said She didn&039;t let her s to uy

"You don&039;t have to fall in love, pack him up and take him home with you," Heidi told her Then she added softly, "But you could date We&039;re talking well over a year here"

"Thanks for the advice, Mo up The night sky seemed to have clouded over; it had suddenly becoht, but it was shadowed by the clouds She frowned It was strange There was a red glohere the et rain tomorrow," she said

"It&039;s supposed to be clear all weekend," Deanna said

Lauren shrugged "Look at the sky"

"U," Deanna said

"Hey, we&039;re not in LA," Heidi said with a laugh

"What-is it just called pollution when you&039;re not in LA?" Deanna asked

"It&039;s just an angry red sky," Lauren otten to the fortune teller yet, and she&039;s talking about poetic dooe," Lauren said

"Is there anything weird in the wind?" Heidi teased

"As a otten a bit cooler," Lauren said

"Thank God," Deanna breathed