Page 15 (1/2)

29

I drove slowly past the ht iron fortification The house was dark and still I continued by the brooding structure, parked around the corner and killed the ine

Other than a handful of trash cans mixed between some parked cars, the street was empty, as it should be at 2:00 am, the vampire&039;s hour

Whatever that means

A ser wrapper along the gutter Hah raw haer meat has been known to sometimes�Dsometimes�Dstay down Where it went, of course, I had no idea

New topic

The brick fence that ran along the east side of Horton&039;s home was almost entirely covered in ivy Streetlamps were few and far between, and none on this particular corner Better for me

I stepped out of the ht air The darkness was co Perhaps I needed the darkness more than it needed me, but I liked to think that I enriched and added flavor to the night I liked to believe I gave the night some purpose, a sort of symbiotic relationship

It was 2:00 aood

I approached the vine-covered wall and did a cursory look around No one was out The street was eh and topped with iron spikes Spikes, stakes, ice picks, railroad spikes, of course, all made ht of a toothpick

With a small crowbar tucked into a loop on my jeans, I paused briefly beneath the brick fence and then juh the air

I landed on top and grabbed hold of an iron spike in each hand Early on in my vampirism, I discovered I could dunk a basketball Basketball rih The kids at the local park had been impressed beyond words So was I We had, of course, been playing at night

Careful of the iron spikes, I squatted there on top of the wall like an oversized�Dalbeit cute�Dfrog In true amphibian-like fashion, I jumped over the spikes and landed smoothly on the far side of the wall, hands flat on the cement

I dashed around to the back of the house, and pro face to face, or face to e and beautiful, sleek and powerful Both blended perfectly with the night

Their surprise at seeing ht a whiff of , they turned and dashed off Had they owned tails, those would have been tucked between their hind legs; as it were, their round nubs shuddered like frightened little s disappeared within some thick shrubbery near a tool shed

I had that effect on dogs, and anih uess they didn&039;t like what they saw Too bad I love dogs

Horton&039;s house ht have an alarm Hell, in Southern California h I suspected the Dobermans were the extent of the backyard security, I wasn&039;t taking any chances with the downstairs French doors Instead, I focused on the second floor balcony with its sliding glass door, leading, by ripped the edge of the balcony&039;s wooden floor In one fluidand landed squarely in the center of the balcony, which shuddered slightly Next, I used the pry bar to ji broke This ti better at this

I stepped into the house

30