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"I thought you were a drea, the dha out around the Moroi in a sort of protective fore face I’d seen while I’d been going in and out of consciousness after the fight by the barn He was older than oatee, and about as tan a complexion as Moroi ever had If you’ve ever seen tan or dark-skinned people who are sick and grow pale, it’s a lot like that

There was soment in his skin, but it was underscored by an intense pallor Most astonishing of all was his clothing He wore a long dark coat that screamed money, paired with a cashold, a chain tohe wore in one of his ears My initial impression of that flamboyance would have been pirate or pi about hiet his way

"Dreahtest hint of a s I hear very often Well, no" He reconsidered "I do occasionally show up in people’s nightmares" He was neither American nor Russian; I couldn’t identify the accent

Was he trying to i, bad reputation? Sydney hadn’t been afraid of him, exactly, but she’d certainly possessed a healthy amount of wariness

"Well, I assume you already knoho I a here?"

"No," he said, the s here?"

I gestured back to the house, trying to play it cool "I’ to a funeral"

"That’s not why you came to Russia"

"I came to Russia to tell the Belikovs that Di as no one else bothered to" That was turning into a handy explanation forhere, but as Abe studied me, a chill ran down my spine, kind of like when Yeva looked at me Like that crazy old woerous edge to his otherwise jovial personality

Abe shook his head, and now the sether "That’s not the reason either Don’t lie toup "And don’t interrogate me, old man Not unless you’re ready to tellthat road to pick up Sydney and me" Abe’s dhampirs stiffened at the words old h the smile didn’t reach his eyes

"Maybe I was just helping out"

"Not from what I hear You’re the one who had the Alchemists send Sydney with me here"

"Oh?" He arched an eyebrow "Did she tell you that? Mmm that was bad behavior on her part Her superiors aren’t going to like that Not at all"

Oh, da I didn’t want Sydney to get in trouble If Abe really was some kind of Moroi Godfather type-what had she called him? Zmey? The snake?-I didn’t doubt he could talk to other Alchemists to make her life even more miserable

"I forced it out of her," I lied "I I threatened her on the train It wasn’t hard She’s already scared to death of me"

"I don’t doubt she is They’re all scared of us, bound by centuries of tradition and hiding behind their crosses to protect theet froet the saazed up at the stars as he spoke, like so on the rier He was treating this like a joke, when clearly he had so part of anyone’s plans-particularly when I didn’t knohat those plans were

"Yeah, yeah, I’m sure we could talk about the Alcheht," I snapped "But I still want to knohat you ith ," he said sione to a lot of trouble to set "

He looked back down frolint in his eyes "You’re of no interest to me I have my own business to run I come on behalf of others who are interested in you"

I stiffened, and at last, true fear ran through me Shit There was a ain, that last one made me nervous The others would seek me out because they cared But Tatiana Tatiana feared I’d run off with Adrian Once ht be because she wanted to ensure I didn’t come back Abe struck me as the kind of person who could make people disappear

"And what do the others want? Do they wantto appear unafraid "Did you think you could just co me back to the US?"

That secretive s you back?"

"Well," I scoffed, again without thinking, "you couldn’t Your guys here could Well, hed out loud for the first time, a rich, deep sound filled with sincere ahtful" Great

Abe probably had a whole file on me somewhere He probably knehat I liked for breakfast "I’ll make a trade with you Tell me why you’re here, and I’ll tell you why I’m here"

"I already told you"

In a flash, the laughter was gone He took a step closer to where I sat, and I saw his guardians tense "And I told you not to lie tohere I need to knohat it is"

"Rose? Can you come in here?"

Back toward the Belikov house, Viktoria’s clear voice rang out in the night Glancing behind et away froaudy, jovial facade, and I didn’t want to spend anothertoward the house, half-expecting his guardians to couys stayed where they were, but their eyes watched me carefully Abe’s quirky smile returned to his face

"Sorry I can’t stay and chat," I said

"That’s all right," he said grandly "We’ll find tihed, and I hastily followed Viktoria into the house, not feeling safe until I shut the door "I do not like that guy"

"Abe?" she asked "I thought he was your friend"

"Hardly He’s soht?"

"I suppose," she said, like it was no big deal "But he’s the reason you’re here"

"Yeah, I know about hiet us"

Viktoria shook her head "No, I , ¡®Belikov, Belikov’ Abe figured you knew us That’s why he took you to our house"

That was startling I’d been drea of Dimitri, so of course I would have said his last name But I’d had no idea that was how I’d ended up here

I’d figured it was because Olena had

Then Viktoria added theof all "When he realized we didn’t know you, he was going to take you souess she’d had some dream that you’d come to us"

"What?" Crazy, creepy Yeva who hated me? "Yeva dreaift she has Are you sure you don’t know Abe? He’s too big-time to be here without a reason"

Olena hurried over to us before I could respond She caught hold of ?" This question was directed to Viktoria

"Abe was-"

Olena shook her head "Never "

"For what?" I asked, letting her drag h the house to the backyard

"I was supposed to tell you," explained Viktoria, scurrying along "This is the part where everyone sits and re stories"

"Nobody’s seen hi; we don’t knohat’s happened to him recently," said Olena "We need you to tell us"

I flinched Me? I balked at that, particularly e eed outside and I saw all those faces around the campfire I didn’t know any of them

How could I talk about Dimitri? How could I reveal as closest to ht I ht faint

For the , her baby in her arh

Viktoria sat down on a blanket-covered spot on the ground and pulled me down beside her Sydney joined us a little while later