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Just in case, I leaned down to the top of h boot and pulled out a small, balanced knife tipped in silver Silver makes vampires itch just a little, but it would drop a olf pretty much instantly I put ht and the Taser in my left Then I made my way up the cobblestones

There were two doors on the front of the building One of them had clearly been retrofitted fairly recently, and was secured with several padlocks The other door, which looked like the original wood, was closed but not quite latched I gave it a light push, and the door swung inward

There wasn’t actually an ominous creak, but it was definitely implied

I peered into the entryway "Molly?" I called, keeping my voice soft There was no reaction I took a breath to try again, louder--and the shtened senses, but even I could recognize the odor of blood and evacuated bohen it was that overpowering "Oh, shit," I muttered I pulledto extendno one in this building was going to appreciate having huers found a switch

Light floodedme to blink as my eyes adjusted I was in a small, eht in front ofwall decorated with fra was renovated into upper and lower apartments, the wall had probably been the entrance to a staircase I took a quick glance at the pictures They showed young wo friendly poses in front of the house, on ca roohtti that I couldn’t help but stare for a moment The last time I’d seen her, she’d had a blonde bob and a casual, pricey wardrobe Now her hair was long, black with bright streaks of blue, and she sported a nose ring and a miniskirt--not quite Goth, but maybe one of Goth’s descendants Punk-adjacent

I autoest photo, an eight-by-ten forirls--thirteen total--were in the center of caht in front of the To to do a cheerleader-style pyra well, and they were laughing In the center, a pixie brunette with square glasses was holding up a crooked sign reading "the Ladies of 2310" Molly was at the bottoirl on top of her started to fall off It struckwo, in the various bedrooms, like a sort of unofficial sorority That was kind of shocking Given the popularity of recording devices in ht, it was rare for a vampire to try to "pass" in a huht out the company of other vampires when they wanted more than casual contact How the hell had Molly pulled this off? And why take the risk?

My eyes caught round I tensed, expectingliquid: a slow, thick ooze of blood on the hardwood floor More than a trickle, not quite a river

Molly, what did you do?

Chapter 3

I stepped toward that doorway, skirting the channel of red My hand autoht switch on the wall, ht burst into the roos, and throat all contracted at once One hand flew to netized

They were everywhere

It was a large living room, obviously the social center for the apartments’ residents Or it had been, before they were all killed The bodies--all female, probably the other women from the photos--lay crumpled on the sofa, draped across the coffee table, abandoned on the floor Bloody handprints covered the walls, the hardwood floor, the girls’ clothes, and everything froazines that had probably once sat on the coffee table There must have been an indentation in the floor--thanks, earthquakes--because blood had trickled froe pool at one end of the room From there, it had made its way into the front hall

I’d seen a lot of terrible things since I’d begun this job--there had been a nighttime forest massacre that was particularly memorable--but never so many bodies For just a second the room seemed to lurch sideways, and I felt nearly dizzy with shock It just didn’t seem real Then I saw that one of bodies was stretched on the floor near a , one ar to run And she earing the same Lucky Brand T-shirt that I had in my closet at home The irony of the brand name felt like a blow, and I had to forcein my palm, and I realized I’d auto a shallow cut inrong here