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Keeping his tone gentle, Balthazar said, "What happened to your brother?"

"He was spending his suirlfriend, Felicia They went off-roading in the outback His ATV flipped He broke his neck" Her eyes had reddened with unshed tears "So when I saw that guy beneath the bleachers, and he looked like Dakota, and there was all that pain in his neck, it was like--like I was feeling ling for corief could not be answered or consoled; the only service to give to people in that dark place was to bear witness So he wrapped his hand around hers, accepting her sorrow, letting it flow through the space between the slowed and became more steady

After a few rave"

"I know" On top of all this, she still had Redgrave after her How much would she have to bear? It was too rave, at fate, at her brother for being such a daredevil--at anybody who had hurt Skye--

No hurave’s latest stunt Though Balthazar felt slightly relieved that Redgrave wasn’t reckless enough to go after her in public--yet--the rest of it only ains, or co theo I’rave the vampire who--"

"He killed me He turned me into a vampire" Balthazar realized his hand still clasped hers, and reluctantly pulled it away It was difficult ad their history even through the retelling "Technically, I agreed to the change But only after he tookjust to have the chance to die and end it"

Her face white, Skye nodded "I don’t trust hi about me that we don’t"

"We’ll find out for ourselves"

It was an autorave and expecting answers So it surprised Balthazar when Skye rose and went to the medicine cabinet "Okay, then Let’s start"

When she turned back toward hie, and he realized what she meant to do "This is a bad idea"

Skye shook her head Though she was obviously still weakened fro else "The only e’re going to understand what my blood does is for a vampire to drink it"

"I may have already done that"

"Wait--what?"

"After all that insanity at the gas station--right after Mr Lovejoy crashed his car, I tasted a few drops of blood that were on the ground I thought it e afterward So the blood must have been yours" Shameful to admit how much he had wanted that brief taste of human blood, but it had become too important not to talk about But the intense hallucinatory experience that had followed--the almost total immersion in his own past--that couldn’t be only about her blood It was impossible Or was it? "I can’t be sure"

"You can be sure if you try it again, and you drinkused to the taste of her blood--it was so insanely teht it would be better if he never, ever knew

The desire to drink living hu a va off animals was possible--Balthazar had proved that--but their blood lacked the full lifeforce that vampires craved past the point of reason In the past century, the practice of blood donation had created ways to get even hu people, but only a few hours outside the body robbed the blood of itshuman blood allowed vampires to continue to look human, to continue to use reason Animal blood would hold theto withstand teht thebut a homicidal predator, Balthazar had to drink hu irony of vaet hooked on the blood of one huerous than not drinking blood at all

Her expression only became more stubborn "It’s the only way to find out what they’re after, so we’re doing it" Skye hesitated as she looked down at the needle "I never actually did this before, but it looks easy enough on TV"

"So does flipping over your car at a hundred e fro the Korean conflict I can handle this"

She was right, of course They had to investigate, and there was no other place to begin than with testing her blood’s true power

But as Balthazar looked at Skye, he knew they courted danger The vision he’d had before had been overwhel; so real, he’d lost all control over the here and now Bad enough at any ti person, the human blood he so desperately missed and craved--in this sirl who drew hily than blood--