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Tracywoke early after a restless night Staring out the , she tried to convince herself it had all been a bad drea outside her bedroo, it was al the day aaiting only for the night to ee from their lairs to prey upon the innocent

Do in the house below? She went over their conversation of the night before What had he been holding back? Try as shethat he meant to destroy hih to accept hih to share her life with hi up, she dialedBryan &039;s nu phone calls, but she needed to hear his voice, needed to knoas all right

He answered on the third ring "Hello"

"Hi, Bry It&039;sTracyDid I wake you?"

"No Are you all right?"

"I&039;m fine Are you?"

"I don&039;t know" He was silent for a long e"

"What do you mean?"

"I don&039;t kno to explain it I don&039;t have any appetite, and the sun hurts my eyes"

Tracyfelt suddenly sick to her sto Doht Had he only said that to calht before?

"Trace?"

"I&039;m here"

"He&039;s one of them,"Bryan said"A vampire"

"Who?"

"Dominic"

"Oh Yes, I know"

"You know? You know, and you went out with him? Are you crazy?"

"Bryan"

"Vah there was no humor in it "Who would believe it?"

"What did Do to try and destroy that creature and that I shouldn&039;t go out after dark until she was deadDead Hah She&039;s already dead"

Tracy&039;s fingers tightened on the telephone Do to destroy PetrinaCould he? He was older and stronger Surely it would be easy for hier vampire But what if the i suddenly restless, she toldBryan goodbye and hung up the phone

Rising, she showered and dressed and then went downstairs She put on a fresh pot of coffee and then, feeling suddenly fas and fried potatoes, orange juice and coffee and toast, and a slice ofat the table, she stared at the food on her plate She never ate this much What on earth had possessed her to prepare such an enormous meal? Even as she asked the question, she knew the answer She was eating it because she could and, as foolish as it sounded, she was eating it for Dominic because he couldn&039;t

She savored every bite as if it were the lastthe table, she washed and dried the dishes and then went outside She&039;d forgotten how big the yard was It was enclosed by a high brick wall that insured her privacy There were a couple of peach trees near the back wall, a gazebo in the middle of the yard, a small, man-made pond in one corner

Hands on her hips, she tried to decide where to start There was, after all, , the flower beds needed weeding, the lawn needed to be mowed,the pond needed to be drained and filled with fresh water

She grunted softly She had no paint and no laer She didn&039;t kno to drain the pond, so she spent the next hour and a half pulling weeds, her gaze constantly straying to the path that led to Do her feet, she dusted off her jeans, then walked down the path, finally ad to herself that this was the reason she had come outside in the first place

When she reached the door, she placed her hand on it The iron was cold beneath her palm

"Dominic, are you down there?"

There was no answer, but she hadn&039;t really expected one With the sun up, he would be sleeping the sleep of the undead

With a sigh, she laid her cheek against the door "Oh, Do to do?"

Tracy

Startled, she backed away from the door, only to realize that the voice, his voice, had been in her ain, she whispered, "I&039;m here"

Come to me

Her heart see open

She took a step forward, and several candles sprang to life to light her way

She hesitated a moment, then crossed the threshold

The door closed behind her There was no turning back now

Filled with apprehension, she slowly descended the passageway The door at the bottoreat trepidation, not certain what she would find Would he be in his coffin? She was afraid she would run screa from the room if he were

Her relief was al in the easy chair in front of the fireplace

He looked up at her, a faint s over his lips "You came I did not think you would"

She sat down on the ottoman "Why did you call oing to destroy PetrinaCan you?"

"Yes, but there is a new complication"

"Won&039;t it cause trouble with the other vampires if you kill one of them?"

"PerhapsBut Petrina is not the only problem now"

"What do you mean?"

"It was not Petrina who tookBryan &039;s blood It was Kitana "

"Who&039;s that?"

"She is the vampire who made me"

"I don&039;t understand What does she have to do with Bryan and Petrina ?"

"This isdesired to have it as her own I think she has brought Kitana here to fight her battle for her"

"Why have you let Petrina stay?"

"She was turned by the saht me across I suppose I have been lenient with her because of my affection for Kitana "

"And now?"

"The next ht her, but I will if Ia va"

"Then why has he lost his appetite? And he says the sun hurts his eyes"

"Shewhat she feels"

"Will he be all right?"