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"I had a movie on Dust Devil You ever see it?"

"Isn’t that a horror flick?"

"Sort of a horror ht to take a look The girl character du to get away frohost world killer who’s sort of in love with her She runs, but she’s no coward She fights back and stays brave You’d like her"

"Thanks I’ll have a look" She gives me a distracted s stupid last night I haven’t been in the city in a long tiht as well be the dark side of the moon"

"I feel that way so else you’re wondering about You’re wondering if I’m an ex-con The answer is yes"

"Oh" She busies herself breaking open rolls of coins and putting the change in the register "I only wondered because of, you know, the scars"

"Would it help if I told you that I didn’t go away because of so someone else wanted?"

"Are you, like, on parole?"

"It’s s work out, I won’t be going back at all"

"I had a boyfriend who did tiht?"

She looked up atfro tiirlfriend named Alice Your eyes are like hers hen I first irls’ eyes when they’ve been in love with a dealer It’s a real particular look More than not trusting people It’s like you’re trying to figure out if they’re the saht be a snake in a peopleetable, or e the subject?"

"Sure I just wanted you to know the truth I’m not a snake I’ister, clearing yesterday’s transactions and getting ready for today’s "But it’s not the whole truth, though, is it? You’re not like Michael was, but there’s still a little bit of the snake thing going on behind your eyes"

"What do you expect? I’ steady, her heart slow Her fear doesn’t disappear; she’s too s to call the cops or stab irl?

I start upstairs, but turn back to Allegra "What day is it?"

"Thursday It’ll be New Year’s in a few days"

"We should get sos, too They look like little bottles Take soo buy whatever you think is fun"

"How much can I spend?"

"Buy whatever you want"

"Hey, those were nice leathers you had on yesterday Do you have a ht just pick one up today"

WHEN I WAS DOWNTOWN, Galina, one of Azazel’s vaale me with stories about what it’s like to hunt huo into exquisite detail, mostly to spoil ht in the arena She had a ga problem

Galina told me that most vampires work hard to keep a low profile They dress, act, and often get jobs like regular people Most vampires only feed once a o without fresh blood, unless they don’tthat looks like hundred-year-old beef jerky

There are the other va, Dracula-Has-Risen-froht just for the sheer meat-market thrill of it The craziest ones don’t even wait for night They hunt during the day Streaking froht off the street and feed on them behind Dumpsters or in crack houses, next to the other addicts

These vae They hunt because so inside them is broken, and no matter how much new blood they fill their bellies with, it turns to fire in their veins They hunt and kill because they need to, because if they didn’t, they’d tear their own heads off Just like any fix, the cal, but for a feweain

If I learned anything Don it’s this: I’m not a vampire, but I am a junkie And every junkie needs a fix

A DELIVERY VAN is pulling away froo in and see stacks of whiskey in boxes, steel beer kegs, and Carlos by the bar, flanked by three lanky skinheads One is in a bomber jacket, one is in a T-shirt of soe skinhead, is in a German military officer’s coat

Bomber Jacket jerks his head toward me "We’re closed!"

"Just a quick one, sweetheart," I say "So I know you lovebelieve this guy? - a Luger pistol, like he thinks he’s Roms and underhand it at him It slaer flies out of his hand and lands on the floor somewhere near the bar

The shaved ape in the officer’s coat starts across the room at me while the black metal skinhead pulls an io straight for the one with the knife This confuses the ape, who turns just as I reach his pal, whose ar-stick ainst a hueniuses are really slow, but I slip past the skinhead’s blade and pop hih to hurt, but not to snap While little birdies are still flying around his head, I grab his ar him into the ape just as he coo down He staggers back a step then lunges at et hold of my jacket and throw a fist as hard as a tire iron into uy because I’m more interested in his partner with the knife When he loads up for another John Wayne punch, I grab one of the squat, bottolass candles off the bar and s back to the opposite wall, where he slides down like a pile of bloody laundry

The guy with the knife is back on h brains to know not to try to stabattack His ar to catchone land on my forearm or shoulder occasionally This is what I’ve wanted, a real chance to test the Kevlar ar up a pretty nice sweat, coot Still, he’s easy to dance around, easy to block His face is contorted and frantic with anger As long as I let hiet a shot in every now and then, I bet he’ll keep couy I hit with the beer keg hasn’tback to his feet Tis up