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Upon leaving The Catacoh he had seen nothing but the night for centuries, he still found enjoyaze tracking the path of the Milky Way Mortals saw so little with their liht, he saw the heavens in all their glory It was a miraculous display, a manifestation of such boundless power that it made his own abilitiesseeht, he walked away froht He had toldTracy he believed his soul was lost, but was it? Would a Being who could create worlds without number and all the forces of life and nature condeiveness?

Shaking such serious matters frohts towardTracy

Perhaps if he had not been thinking of her, he ht have sensed their presence before it was too late

They sprang at hi, the five of theed his Driven by hatred, filled with the blood of those they had preyed upon earlier, they were at theirdeep into his throatFranco and Turk, each holding an arm, slashed at the veins in his wrists He felt the blood flow froed her fingers down his chest Her nails, as sharp as claws, ripped through flesh and athered it to him, and threw the two male vampires away fro hi Zarabeth by the neck, Dominic hurled her into a pile of wooden boxes Zarabeth shrieked as a box broke beneath her weight, driving a sharp piece of wood into her back and through her heart It was a death blow Dark red blood spurted fro breathed her last

Lasloand Franco rushed hirasped each of theether in a satisfying crack They fell to the ground, momentarily stunned

And now Petrina and Turk circled hi, his strength ebbing like the outgoing tide, Do and foolish, Turk lunged forward Surabbed Turk by the neck With a cry, he ripped out the other vampire&039;s throat,then tossed him aside The va alone now, Petrina screaht, Dominic beckoned to her "Coered to his feet and grabbed Petrina by the ar for us"

"No!"

Laslotugged on her ar!"

With a wordless cry of frustration, Petrina glared at Dominic as she lifted the lifeless Zarabeth into her arms and then melted into the shadows Franco lurched to his feet, picked up Turk, and followed Petrina and Franco down the street

Do in the shadows as a patrol car passed by

He stood there, panting heavily, while blood flowed from his wounds

He needed to find shelter

He needed blood

He neededTracy

Tracysat in the living roos Earlier, she had turned on the TV for co on She&039;d had a feeling of iain she stared at the clock on thehi She kneithout knowing how she knew, kneith such certainty itsoundly on the sofa Once, she had tried to wake hiht in whatever spell Do about walls and turned over, oblivious to her presence

"Dominic"

She fell asleep with his na, she opened her eyes and glanced around, wondering what it was that had awakened herBryan was still asleep on the sofa The voice of an earlytalk show host droned fro it must have been the TV that awakened her, she closed her eyes, only to open the sound reached her ears At first, she thought it was only the leaves brushing against the side of the house And then it ca, was scratching at the front door

Filled with trepidation, she rose to her feet and padded barefoot toward the foyer "Is someone there?"

Tracy Dominic&039;s voice sounded in herthe curtains aside, she peered through the front , gasped when she saw hi the lock, she opened the door "Dorasped it in her own Lifting him to his feet, she helped him into the house, closed and locked the door behind theainst her It took all her strength to help hiainst the light as she removed his blood-soaked shirt and trousers Even his socks were drenched with blood

Tracystared at him in horror His face and hands were badly burned The skin on his chest was deathly pale, his eyes were red and sunken

"What happened to you? Did Kitana do this?"

"No"

Pulling a dish towel froently as she could, began to wipe the blood from his face He winced and jerked away from her touch

"I&039;m sorry," she murmured, and ministered to the wounds in his chestSo much blood The towel soaked it up and she tossed it in the sink and wet another one "How did this happen?"

" Petrina"

"She did this?"Tracy asked in disbelief

"She had help"

"Why didn&039;t you?" The second toas thrown into the sink with the first

"This is h to do it alone"

She pulled another towel fros "You could have bled to death"

"No They were cluh he had bled a great deal, none of the wounds was deep enough to be life-threatening

With a shake of her head,Tracy wiped the last of the blood away,then tossed the third towel into the sink with the others She looked back at hi what else she could do

He put his hand on her armTracy "

"What? Did I hurt you?"

"I need blood"

The way he said it, the expression in his eyes, told her he needed much more than the small amounts he had taken before

When she had him cleaned up, she slipped an arm under his shoulders and helped him to his feet Step by slow step, they uest bedrooroaned softly as she lowered hi one of his hands in hers His skin was al "It is all right," he closed his eyes

She stared down at hiht that he ht die She shook her head He couldn&039;t die Could he?

She chewed on her lower lip, wanting to give him what he needed, yet afraid What if he took too much? What if he took it all? What if he turned her into a vampire?

Dared she take the risk?

How could she not?

Her decision made, she stretched out on the bed beside him "Dominic?"

His eyesopened, dark and filled with pain she could not iine

"Take what you need" She turned her head to the side, giving him access to her neck "But, please, don&039;t take too ainst her skin The hands that held her tres and then closed her eyes as pleasure spread through her The ht drowsily, when it was really quite pleasant

Frag Dorass, a newlyburned by the sun when he failed to reach his lair in ti to free herself froed to the fore