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"I’m Celia Graves Dr Scott’s office was supposed to have called ahead--"

"Oh " He stared atstartled and afraid "That’s you? I’m sorry, but--"

"Look, I’ve been bit, but I’er fro sarcastic, but he was still afraid "The order’s too big to fit through theYou’ll have to co for the as probably going to have a hard tioing to be okay? People tend to freak when they get a good look at me"

"I can see why" He sed hard "Look, park the car and give me a couple minutes to warn everybody before you colance in the mirror said I did The puffy, reddened eyes e had nearly overtaken the a and took the closest parking spot that hadn’t been ht edge before the shadows but ithin the protections of the ward So I shut down the engine and waited the requisitesurethis little trip would bring h-limit card

The automatic doors whooshed smoothly open as I passed beneath the security cahts One of the, like a large, annoying insect

The store was ee boy who had talked toaround There was a price gun on the counter in Cosmetics, a half-filled cart But other than him, no people Weird "Where is everybody?"

"Everybody else went back into the pharmacy area where the wards are better Just in case"

"What, you drew the short straw?" I didn’tfear in everyone was getting really old, really fast

He shrugged "Dr Scott’s office said you had been bitten and gone through a partial change but that we should be safe I know hi like that Besides, if anyone is going to get hurt, I’d rather it wasI alht then, let’s do this"

There was a huge stack of stuff waiting forcart ready to take the load There was a blender, cases of baby food (no formula, thank God), individual containers of flavored "shakes" fro a liquid form of a multivitamin and mineral supplement, jars of dehydrated beef and chicken broth, andOf course, part of the problem was that somewhere I could smell fresh, hot pizza The aro … possibly ever again

I tried not to be surly about it as he rang up the order Unfortunately, the total kept going higher, and the ser By the tih I wasthis out to the car?" Now that I hadn’t shown any signs of aggression he was starting to relax He smiled Despite the crooked teeth, it was a nice sot a lot of the time Since there was more stuff than the cart would hold, I accepted, with thanks I wanted to get out of here and hoe all of er side of the Miata, but we rabbed the cart, starting to turn away from me, when he just … froze The cross at his neck flared white-hot as his face went lireen eyes dull and empty One foot hovered in midair from the step he hadn’t completed Without the cart to balance him, he’d have keeled over and never even realized it

I felt cold power like a snake brushing againston I turned toward that power, turned toward the deepest shadows just past thecasually against a nized the ar

He struck ahis features in sharp relief as he puffed a cigarette to life He killed the fla the spent round at his feet

He was dressed much like Dr Scott had been Khakis and a polo shirt, standard casual wear for the upper ar was seriously good at illusion or he’d cleaned up from his earlier "meal" He looked more like an ordinary businessman than an undead monster

My eyes adjusted and I was able to ure A black man, he had been killed in his late teens or early twenties and was dressed in the kind of clothes you’d expect to see on campus He looked just like everybody else … except for his eyes Those dark brown orbs held the knowledge of someone much older They ithout warure was a woman, but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t see her clearly It was her powerful ic that held the boy enthralled and kept et past the barriers surrounding the property Because if she could have, she would have I felt her hunger, her htful prey

"Good evening" Edgar blew out a puff of tobacco-laden sreeted lanced at the contents of the overflowing passenger seat, his expression grimly amused "You do realize it would be easier and cheaper to just take that last step?"

"No, thank you, I’d rather not" No, thank you? My words sounded odd even to ood manners into me and, for the most part, I revert back to the, I say the polite thing She’d be so proud