Page 12 (1/2)

"You can’t trust them"

"You’re a vampire, and I trust you"

"I’m not a true vampire, and you shouldn’t trust me"

"There’s no one I trust more," Shade said quietly He loved E, trusted hi mental bond with Wraith, knew his mind even when his brother’s mind was scrambled E always followed the rules even if his personal feelings didn’t match up with them; Wraith always followed his heart and instincts even--or especially--if they went against the rules In a way, E was far ht and narrow, and often that path didn’t make allowances for family

Wraith cursed "Don’t start with me I’m outta here Locked, cocked, and ready to rock" He strode to the door "Do yourself a favor and forget Nancy Go find that new nurse, the Sora des she can do with her tail"

"I know"

Shooting Shade a toothy grin, Wraith sauntered off, his boots falling like ha that seeking out the Sora ood idea Work off a little stress He’d acco in his chat with Wraith about Eidolon, and as tirew more and more anxious

He’d lost too many brothers He wasn’t prepared to lose the last two

Seven

Eidolon couldn’t decide whether Tayla had caved in too easily to his request to take her home He hadn’t smelled deception on her, but then, his olfactory senses were designedelse

And lust was so that rippled off her in subtle undercurrents, often when she was in thehim Or when she was beneath him

Welcoh hier seat of his BMW He’d have been attracted to her anyway, but the s’genesis was jerking hiht side of his face throb, just below the surface of his skin, where thethat would identify his fe on fast, and he only hoped his experimental treatment would hold off the worst of the effects, or at least erous and painful With any luck, he’d find a ain, he wasn’t likely to find a mate if he filled his days with hospital work instead of courting females

Not that he hadn’t tried But few fe to co the only way out of the bond was death The fe that whatever the s’genesis did to hiain, he didn’t haveout of ti if his treath to allow him to find a worthy female He needed to act now Preferably, the moment he dropped off Tayla

"Out of curiosity," she said, shifting her focus from the police car ahead of them to him, "why did you kill the vampire? Why not take her to your hospital?"

Fury blasted through hi, deep breaths to keep fro out at Tayla "Most of her circulatory system had been reh doing so would relieve the ache there, the one that was starting to grow as his losses piled up

She caught her lower lip between her teeth, the action ta a different fire "I don’t get it Vamps are dead Undead Whatever Why do they need a circulatory syste kept hi "The transformation from human to vampire alters their internal makeup The sto New arteries and veins carry ingested blood throughout the body Without those veins, a vampire will die as surely as it hen a slayer jaer"

"Why would soenuine as far as he could tell, and da about the killings

"Va on the black market, for use in spells or rituals or so enjoyedher once her organs had been reis for what happened to her? Is that what she was saying to you before you--"

"Yes"

Tayla shook her head "It’s not us It’s not The Aegis Our job is to protect hu potentially useful body parts" When he said nothing, she stared at him with such intensity that he damn near squirmed in his seat And he never squirmed

"What?" he snapped

"What did you call her? You know, before you"

"Lirsha" He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter "Loosely translates to lover"

There was a slight pause before she said, "She was your lover?"

"Not inning, and he’d always liked the quirky nurse Shade’s sister, Skulk, had once said that Nancy’s aura burned bright, more colorful than that of other vampires, which hadn’t been a shock He’d never seen the nurse in a bad h cold, Tayla braced her shoulder against the"Turn here and park anywhere"

He looked around the area in disgust He hadn’t been sure what to expect frohetto wasn’t it Not even the cheery April sunlight could put a shine on the graffiti-tagged, run-down character of the neighborhood

"You won’t want to leave your car for more than thirty seconds, or it’ll be stripped or ripped"

"It’ll be fine" He parked between a furniture truck and a lowered pickup riddled with bullet holes, and they got out of the car

When Tayla glanced hesitantly at the vehicle and then back at him, he shook his head "Trust me People alk by like they don’t even see it" The BMW wouldn’t literally be invisible, but the Deflection spell that came standard on demon-dealer autos meant his BMW didn’t attract huister only in their subconscious

"Whatever Your loss My keys are at HQ, so I hope the super is around"

She led hi up a key at the office, they clihts of rickety stairs When she opened her door, she swore

"Mickey!"

Eidolon stepped inside the apart to hide his shock The place was a dump Not filthy--Tayla obviously cleaned--but she didn’t have a lot to ith The ceiling, stained by generations of water leaks and e of collapse Gray paint peeled like shredded skin from the walls, and holes the size of his foot pockhout were bits of foaed inside one of the cushions on the orange seventies-style sofa

"What happened?"