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Christ Alhty, his weakness o bloody women The vampire and the Venator The seductive evil incarnate and the feminine warrior

There was a sudden sharp squeal and a soft explosion Then quiet

He surged to the edge again, looking back down into the blackness, hopingHer white fingers were there, bloody, digging into the s her battered body upnot so far froed his chained wrists down to help drag her up, heedless of Lilith standing behind his leftonly the smell of varound at their feet Her clothing was bloody and torn, her eyes glazed, her loose hair in a long, witchy tangle about her, red-streaked fingers still clutching the stake Yet she pulled raggedly to her feet and blinked hard; Max could see her struggling to maintain her conized the struggle going on beneath her skin, deep within The need to go on, to destroy, to annihilate His fists tightened There was nothing anyone could do for her She had to fight through herself Wayren had told him all of the details that Victoria had not

Holy God, let her be strong

She drew a deep, shuddering breath and faced Lilith Her eyes burned with anger, yet there was no red Not yet

Thank God, not yet

Then, suddenly galvanized and hopeful, he fu toward her, ready to end it before she had to make the fatal choicebefore she was battered any further, tortured, e

But his chains were yanked again and he lost his fingering on the ring as he was forced out of reach of Victoria, tripping and stunet quickly before it cut his own flesh There was only enough for one of the to Victoria "Absolutelyless than I’d expected froht take longer than you did Although I shall grieve for the loss of my companions, the outcome will be sointo her lip as her snal, the door on the other side of the pit opened and in walked thethe leashes of fourcanines, their ears pricked forward, their eyes burning red as they scented the blood

"And noe shall finish this," said Lilith

Her eyes burned with excite to voe toward Victoria, releasing the tiny lethal blade of his ringhe needed only one sht around his foot, pulling back, and he slaround

And then a woman screamed

Twenty-seven

The Choice

Victoria was barely aware of Max slaer pulsing through herred burning her eyes, blazing through her

Her heart still pounded, sweat poured down her back and underar in the battle as it billowed and surged inside her She drew in a deep breath, touched the aasped with the power: pure, clean power

The red faded, the rarasp Triu She’d underestih whatever this test was--

And then she saw the four dogs And Be on the other side of the pit The dark, deep, horrible space Slicing teeth and deep claws, the sain Not to killto h for relief Not enough to kill Victoria couldn’t hold back a shudder It rattled her, made her weak-kneed and dizzy and dry in thethem back, and back, and back

She felt the brush at her feet as Max tried to lunge back at her, and she focused on him, saw the blood and scrapes on his shoulder and chest, the torn flesh at his wrists Yet her world was vague, and shethrough heavy waves, struggling to breatheand then a sharp screah the air

Victoria whirled in ti into that horrible pit The four dogs lunged after her, leaping down into the darkness The screae of the pit The dogs were on the woht them off The report of the pistol echoed in the sainst vampiric canines

Victoria inhaled bloodscent, felt the rush of fear, heard the screaht it She turned back to Lilith and found her watching with a slight s expression

Screao back into that horrible place Those sharp teeth, tearing andthe soft squeal of a dog hit by the butt of her pistol