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Asa

We watch Rafe disappear through the kitchen and a quiet tension fills the air between the master, Jon, andon duty in the kitchen

"Yes?"

"Prepare pots of blood coffee and bring them into the lobby, please"

"Yes, ma&039;am"

The bustle of thearound the three of us, which allows the heated voices in the lobby to press in upon us again

"You warh, Asa? Or do you need a few minutes in the sauna?" Vivian asks Her face looks calry as when I saw her last Of course, she was beating ht direction

"I&039;" Joanna&039;s energy still sings throughthis out to Vivian would be akin to a death wish, so I wisely keep my mouth shut

"Okay Head back out and search for Donald Call Drew to see if he can give you his last known location"

I nod and remove my cell Jon and Vivian wander back into the lobby to join in the heated debate the va Es twice and the line picks up "Drew?" I ask

"Yup?"

"When did Donald last report?"

"About forty o He was near the apartments"

"Where does the GPS locator say Emiko is?"

"About five hundred yards southeast of the first apart"

"Thanks Call me if Donald checks in via another route I&039; the phone, I zip up and prepare to go back out into the howling winds I pull a black, high-tech fabric down overpast the arguing vampires as they discuss the best course of action, I ease the lobby door shut and head into the frosty darkness You&039;d never knoas after eight in theup here in the winter feels like being on another planet

The all-consu ht, Ithe plowed one-lane road deep into the resort property Theshift has reported for work already and with any luck, no one froard theto make it within a quarter mile of the apartments An inhuman screech ricochets fro direction, I angle toward the noise and click on h the darkness towardinto a bush on my left A flash of the beaht vision for a rey-haired hunter as he turns his face away "Bastard! Do youe"

The scent of va

"Then let&039;s ht around the tra to land on the Asian vamp&039;s fine-boned, broad features Her pupils shift while I watch and her aresture The beaht circle falls into blackness

The clean-cut Donald shakes his head before ju back the way he came

My eyes adjust quickly, but I still can&039;t see ht to see what the hell happened to it and find a frozen stick protruding fro bulb the black canister is nothing ht, it looks like I&039;ll have to rely onnear the Gen One building allowed me to watch Emiko kick Bebe&039;s ass earlier, but here we&039;re far from any structure and the shadorap around us in a suffocating hold

"Can you see her?" Donald murmurs into the blackness

I&039;ll be damned if I call any

"He won&039;t help you," co to place her by reaching out with ht ahead I feel her waiting Her strong energy appears coiled, barely harnessed

The sound of splintering wood and crunching branches follows for the next few heartbeats Male grunts of exertion reach h the air twiceeven more Each time he shakes himself, brushes off the snow, and approaches the direction he flew via a different path By the sounds of it, E the grace of her movements as she executed a co to say the least It revealed she was toying withalley from the very start I&039;ve never seen such precision and perfection in fighting, and if I play ht, I hope I&039;ll never have it directed toward e to the hardy, but scant, vegetation around us continues to grow

"Would you honor it if I cried &039;uncle&039;?" says Donald

The stillness encourages h the thick crust of snow beneath my boots Ten feet in, darker shadow fors, exposing the two vampires locked in battle

Emiko stands with a raised, sharpened stake, which looks like a broken tree branch, poising it directly over her opponent&039;s heart "You&039;re good, I&039;ll give you that But you are not trained as I aht Why have it end on a bad note?" A smile spreads across the pale skin of his face, visible only because of my close proximity

His blase attitude has the desired effect; it pulls a laugh froht Is this you&039;re way of asking h to add to your power signature," he says while she grips his coat tighter "Why not let me bow out with honor and you continue with the others? I&039;ll retire to the inn for the reer"

This guy ue I&039;ve ever heard If he&039;d caught her andthe blood froht now The same woman, who mounted me like a freakin&039; stallion in heat, looks like she&039;s considering his request