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Blake looked at the clock Eight-thirty in the evening He had less than twenty-four hours left to live

Elise sat across from him, her tenseness palpable Mencheres had forced her to leave thislike she had spent the three hours in the other cabin wide-awake Blake wanted to assure her onceshe could, but s worse

Her blond hair was loose, falling just past her shoulders, and she wore another tank top with yoga-style pants Blake had been studying her while she looked out the , trying to ht nose The h cheekbones and sreen eyes

Yes, if there was an afterlife, Blake wanted to bring theto the board

She glanced away from the"I don&039;t kno to play"

"Hmm You don&039;t kno to drive or to play chess

What have you been doing with all your ti, but her face clouded "I listen to et restless, I walk through the city It&039;s been sufficient" It didn&039;t sound sufficient It sounded lonely Elise had said she&039;d been living like that since the fifties, but what had she been like before then? Blake knew she was h she looked to be in her early twenties How much older? he wondered

"How old are you?"

She appeared to think about it for a second "Altogether, including the years before I became a vampire?"

Blake nodded

"Ninety-nine in September," Elise said

That number was so at odds with her lovely, youthful appearance, Blake had to smile "You don&039;t look a day over ninety-two," he said ry hued "Some days, I feel even older"

Today was one of those days, if the stress on her face was any indicator Blake sought to lighten her mood There was no need for either of the

"How about I teach you to play chess? It&039;s not hard By the ti, you&039;ll be a pro"

"I don&039;t want to learn to play chess," Elise snapped, then she grabbed the edge of the built-in metal board and ripped it out of the cabin wall

Blake stared at her "Don&039;t do this"

Suddenly she was in front of hi in the empty space where the pull-down table had been

"You don&039;t have to die" Her voice was ragged "I can take you withanyone else"