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takes place everyother Thursday.
 Load the newspapers in the back of her van.Just the local ones. She turned
to me again and arched a brow.  Unless you think scouring theNew York Times
would help?
 Was there anything out of the ordinary in them? Anything at all you can
remember that seemed& more sensational than usual? Of course, I supposed
sensational was relative to a man who worked in a vampire whorehouse.
 I am sorry, miss, I do not read them. Turning back to March, he asked,
 Will that be all, ma am?
She nodded.  Yeah, I think so.
With another stiff bow, he left us.
 Sorry I couldn t be of more help. We ll make sure you get the proper
supplies for your trip. She grinned, looking pleased with herself.
I was still convinced she hid something.  Thanks for the hospitality. I
hoped she felt the sarcasm of my words as a bite.
 Well, sweetness, I got a whole bunch of human business coming in
tonight.Episcopal Women s Altar Society bus trip.Told their husbands they re
going to a Bible summit on gay marriage. She stood, indicating I should do
the same.
I could take a hint. She was done supplying me with information that would
lead to the death of her sire. Just one last question?
After a moment s hesitation, she nodded. Why not?
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 How come he didn t take your soul? We began to walk down the path. I
thought perhaps she d decided not to answer.
Then, without a hint of deception or theatrics, she said simply,  He took
someone else s.
A chill went through me at the memory of how he d taken Cyrus s wife,Elsbeth
, without a thought for his son s happiness.
March shrugged, as though the fact her soul was spared by the death of
another s was par for the course.  I m not going to say it was right. But I m
glad it wasn t me who died.
I believe there is a defining moment in everyone s life where they seal their
own fate through words or actions. My parents did it when they got in their
car to visit me in college and, six hours later, wound up bleeding to death on
the side of the road. I d done it when I d gone to the morgue to view Cyrus s
body, and he d gone from being another John Doe to the creature who haunted my
nightmares.
A creeping wave of icy foreboding seized me. I couldn t tell when, I couldn t
know how, but I knew March had already set in motion the events that would
lead to her death.
 You re not dead yet, I reminded her, my throat suddenly dry.  But you will
be.
My warning didn t alarm her as much as I imagined it should have.  Well,
we ll all be gone someday. No sense in fearing it.
 I ve died. Fear it.
We sized each other up for a grueling minute. I would have paid several
thousand dollars to know what she thought, but her mask of emotional obscurity
was firmly in place.  Last town before the true desert isLouden . Drivelike
hell and you can get there before sunup.
I didn t see March again after she left me in the foyer. She didn t say
goodbye, so much as  pleasure doing business with you, and even then I didn t
truly believe it.
The supplies that had been removed from my bag were returned to me, along
with some I doubted I d have any use for: sleeping pills, chloroform, bungee
cords and gauze bandages. I looked them over and raised my eyebrows at the
butler.
 For  human wrangling. The madam s idea. He didn t sound enthused to be
supporting me.
From an inside jacket pocket, he produced a map.  You ll find the most
efficient route toDeath Valley is highlighted.
 Why is she helping me, when she wouldn t bother giving me a straight answer
before? I took my bag, heavy with its new cargo, and tucked the map into my
jeans pocket. As I trudged wearily to the door, grateful to be out of this
place, the butler s voice stopped me.
 Perhaps she does not think you ll succeed. Did it occur to you she might be
helping you to your death? His imperious tone was beginning to get on my
nerves.  But I believe it is more a case of  the enemy of my enemy is my
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friend. 
I didn t turn to face him, and resumed walking, pausing only to open the
door.  I won t fail. This is a cakewalk compared to what I ve been through.
 The madam also wishes you to know that if she sees you again, she will kill
you on sight.
I stepped out into the coolNevada evening. The stars seemed to shine brighter
here, and hung so closeI almost felt I could touch them. The sight grounded me
in the gravity and reality of what lay ahead of me.
I had most of the puzzle pieces. Now it was just a matter of fitting them
together.
 She won t see me again. I took a deep breath of the fresh desert air.  But
tell her I said ditto.
When I left, I didn t look back. I think I expected to see the place had been
a mirage, evaporated into heat waves in the air.
The vampires sent to fix the door woke them. Cyrus held Mouse, who clung to
him in mortal terror as the two creatures respectfully retrieved the broken
door and carried it up the stairs. They apologized in advance for the noise
they would make.
Cyrus expected them to bow and scrape as they exited, such was their cautious
demeanor. Angie had most likely put the fear of God or, more aptly, the fear
of Angie into them.
 They re gone, he whispered to Mouse when the vampires had trudged noisily
up the stairs.  You don t have to fear them.
It felt like a lie the moment he said it. Hadn t he proved himself useless in
protecting her? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]