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"I’m not sure he’s to that point yet," Jade said

"If he’s been buried for centuries, he needed to slake his hunger first, regain his strength," Lucien said

"I’ to bet that, eventually, they’ll find out that so persons were killed around here

Bodies will turn up In the old days, there were rules--a vampire had to destroy his, or her, kills, and only create three new beings of his kind per century"

Again, Stephanie and Grant exchanged glances

This tiht, I know that this is a lot for the two of you to take in And that, of course, is why I didn’t just co and try to say all this--you would have been completely determined to have me locked up"

"If you’re really a vampire," Grant said, "couldn’t you have just hypnotized us into some kind of submission? Or is that just s," Lucien said evenly "I didn’t"

Stephanie gasped suddenly This couldn’t be real The man couldn’t be a vampire

And yet…

"Your arm!" she exclaimed to Lucien "It was blistered horribly, but…"

"I have incredible powers of recuperation," he told her

"So that was just froed the little boy out of the water?" she said

"Actually, everyone et quite a bit of it on me," he said dryly He looked at Grant "You knoeakness I hope you don’t share it"

"We’re still talking," Grant said

"All right, so this vath," Stephanie said

"I think there’s more to it than that," Lucien told her

"Like what?" Grant asked

"He has a plan," Lucien said

Stephanie shook her head "Like what?"

"I don’t know that yet If he were just working with the growing powers of one of my own kind, I would know," Lucien said, and his frustration was very real "But Valeria… whatever her sorcery, it’s different, and very powerful Because of her, he is somehow able to shield himself--just as she shields herself If she has been awakened as well--which seeerous Historically, reviews on her are mixed Some people believe that François had a hold over her, and that she only used her power for evil--to kill and ravage--because François could hurt her--somehow Then there are others who believed that she was simply evil incarnate herself The truth, we don’t know"

"What do you know?" Grant asked

Lucien glanced at Jade, then sat back, druain He looked at Grant "I know that you’re involved"

"I’round!" Grant protested strongly "You can check on round, all the way back to nursery school!"

"I never suggested that you were François But I know it--and you know it You’re involved Admit it

You felt you had to come here And you really didn’t know that Stephanie would be here"

Grant was silent, staring at him

"Steph--you came because of the job But if you look deep inside, you’ll know that every e’re saying is true You were being summoned You can’t deny it And if you deny it to me, you still can’t lie to yourself When we found you on the cliff, you had no idea what you were doing, where you were going--or why Right?"

She, too, just stared at him in silence

"What do we do?" she asked carefully after ain and out of places, trying to get crosses around people’s necks," Lucien said "And dammit--where’s yours?" he asked Stephanie

She started "You ive me a cross?"

He shook his head "He knows," he said softly "A lot of these people know They are actually smarter here than in many a place, because they haven’t been so attuned to y, and otten there can be more than meets the eye"

"So… the people here just know… that there are va them?" Stephanie said

Grant inhaled suddenly and looked at Lucien "This person, or creature--François He did kill Gema--but he didn’t destroy her io after Drew and Doug, and so… and he would have died, except that Drew found hih But the arht?"