Settling back in her chair, she studies me intently. "You're a little young to be a delegate."

At seventeen, I'm the youngest ever. Victor's father, overlord at the time, personally requested me. The Agency, charged with protecting the citizens, had no say in the decision. The vampire hold over humans is that strong. What vampires demand, they get.

"My parents were delegates," I explain. "They were killed one night on their way back from Valentine Manor." I didn't know at the time that Sin killed them on Lord Valentine's orders. Valentine wanted me as delegate so he could keep a closer watch on me. He knew what I was. He wanted to use me, just like Sin wants to now. But I'm only going to share with Dr. Jameson the surface of my life, because I still have a hard time swimming through its depths.

"Valentine," she mutters. "The most ruthless of all the vampires from what I understand."

"He's dead now. Hisa""

I cut myself short as the door opens and the guard who first welcomed us strolls in. With his wide-brimmed hat and bandolier of stakes, George looks like a cowboy gunslinger stepping out of the pages of a bizarre western story that foresaw the rise of vampires.

"I hope you're enjoying your stay," he says, taking off his hat and wiping his sweaty brow with the sleeve of his blue-checkered shirt. His beard glistens with the day's hard work.

"Your hospitality has been amazing," I say.

He rests his rifle against the wall and sits down, exhaling heavily. I study him as he stretches out his legs and crosses them.

"A rifle and stakes?" I ask.

"We get vampires wanting our blood and bandits wanting to steal our water. Need to be prepared for both."

"Do you suffer many attacks?"

"We did at first. But I think everyone knows to leave us alone now."

"I didn't realize so many humans were roaming the countryside."

"More than you'd think. People get tired of being walled in and under the thumb of Old Family vampires."

Dr. Jameson stands up, goes over to a small pot, and pours coffee into three mugs, bringing them back to us.

"Thank you kindly," George says with a deep, slow drawl.

The coffee is strong and tastes rich; it provides the energy boost I need.

"Are you on guard duty tonight?" I ask.

"Every night."

"And every morning. You were the first one to greet us."

"That's right," he says. "Never was one to sleep much."

He takes another big gulp, then looks at the mug as if trying to decode its delicious secrets. He's probably been drinking this coffee every night, but I can tell Dr. Jameson appreciates his wonder.

"You always did make a good cup, Marjorie," he says.

She's about to reply when the door opens again.

"Someone coming down the road, George," the man announces. "In a car."

My heart jumps. Victor!

"A car?" George asks. "Must be one of those freelance vampire hunters. Not many people can afford a car these days."

"It's not a vampire hunter," I a.s.sure them, my joy evident. "It's my friends."

The man at the door studies me, then turns to George.

"Well," George says, "roll out the red carpet for 'em. This little lady here says they're her friends, so we'll treat them as such until they prove otherwise."

The man nods and leaves.

"Thank you so much," I say, not completely sure what I'm thanking them for. But before the door even shuts, I'm outside, George and the doctor right behind me.

In the distance, the dust is kicked up, flying into the night sky. The door behind me squeaks open one more time and Michael emerges.

"Who is it?" he asks, groggily rubbing his head.

"Victor and Jeff."

The car fishtails to a stop in front of us, the dust catching up to it and swirling around the headlights, creating mystic shadow puppets that stretch across the town square. Jeff steps out of the pa.s.senger's side, and Victor quickly emerges from the driver's side.

In spite of our audience, Victor and I race toward each other. I collapse against him, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck as he brings me nearer. I'm overwhelmed with a sense of relief at being this close to him again. His warmth, his solidity offer rea.s.surance. Even though I was just with him in my dream, being with him in the flesh is so much more satisfying. I think of where I am: in the middle of nowhere, Sin just behind us, and a deeper night still to come. Yet it doesn't matter, because I'm with Victor.

"I was so worried about you," he whispers, and I feel his breath ruffling my hair as he holds me tightly.

"I know, but we're okay now."

Loosening our embrace, Victor looks me squarely in the eyes. I could stand here forever, relishing this moment. More breadth of wonder rests in his blue eyes than in the vast skies above us.

When Jeff finishes shaking Michael's hand and giving him a pat on the shoulder, he turns to me. "Hey, sunshine. Good to see you."

I smile, release a tiny laugh as I hug him. In addition to serving as a bodyguard for the Agency, he's been dating my guardian and mentor, Rachel Goodwin. He's become as special to me as she's always been.

I introduce them to George and Dr. Jameson, give a brief accounting of all they've done for us.

"Thank you for taking them in," Victor says. "I know trust is a rarity in places like this."

"That it is. But even more rare is an Old Family vampire showing up," George says, an eyebrow raised.

Victor gives a wry smile and looks at me. Old Family vampires are elegant, suave, sophisticated. Comfortable with what they are. Humans who are turneda"Lessersa"never quite achieve that beauty. Victor may be dressed in jeans, a black long-sleeve T-shirt, and a leather duster, but there is something regal in his bearing. Confidence oozes off him. And if I'm honest with myself, he is quite simply gorgeous in a way that's impossible to hide.

"I hope that isn't a problem," Victor says.

"It doesn't have to be," George says. "So long as you understand we ain't under your jurisdiction."

"I'd never dream of it," Victor says.

"Well, that's settled, then. I can tell you're itchin' to have a talk with your little lady. When you're ready, come inside and we'll have a sit-down."

He heads back into Dr. Jameson's house. The doctor, Michael, and Jeff follow him.

The townsfolk have come over to examine Victor's car. They run their hands over the smooth surface and make noises of appreciation. Since the war, cars are rare and no doubt a curiosity for them.

Putting some distance between them and us, Victor guides me over to the side of the road and cradles my face. "I was so scared, Dawn."

Lowering his head, he kisses me tenderly.

The world falls away, and it's just us and the stars above in this desolate place. We stand like a pair of wildflowers that somehow grew in this dry sand, and we breathe together, and move together, and entangle ourselves around each other.

Pulling back, he skims his knuckles over my cheek. "This is so much better than what we shared in the dreams." He shakes his head. "But there I could stay. In the real world, I have to walk away."

Victor said before I left Denver that we couldn't be together. That I'm the weakness his enemies will exploit. But it's too late.

"Walking away won't protect either of us now. Sin wants me to kill you."

His jaw tightens.

I continue, "It's the price I have to pay to keep everyone else I care about safe."

Victor stares at me, perhaps wondering if I would actually take Sin up on the offer. Not because I'm afraid, but because of how much I care for all my friends.

"I told him to shove it," I say quickly, and Victor laughs. "Maybe not in those exact words, but I think the message was clear."

I put my hand on Victor's heart, as though protecting it from any stake that would dare strike him.

"But what about Faith?" Victor asks. "And Richard. Does Sin have them?"

"No, no," I rush to a.s.sure him. Faith is Victor's sister. He sent her and his best friend, Richard Carrollton, to watch over me when I journeyed to Los Angeles to find out what I could about the Thirst and Sin. "They escaped using the engine of the Night Train. Along with Tegan"a"my best frienda""and Ian Hightower."

"Hightower?"

I sense his alarm. Ian Hightower is the most famous and deadly vampire hunter to ever live. More recently, he's been the guardian of the Night Train.

"Don't worry. We formed an alliance with Ian," I tell him.

"That must have taken some convincing."

"Richard was quite persuasive, and his killing some of the Infected who got on board the train didn't hurt. They're probably back in the city by now, don't you think?"

"Probably." I can sense him taking comfort in the knowledge that everyone should be safe. "If they made it out, what happened to you? How did Sin manage to capture you?"

I tell him about Los Angeles, how the outer ring of the city is nothing but weak and hopeless humans and the inner ring is overrun with Sin's Day Walkers. He was waiting for us. I explain that we tried to kill him, but he was too powerful and his followers too many. While the others escaped, I wasn't so lucky. I couldn't get to the train in time. Michael came back for me, but Sin's legions surrounded us.

"Why didn't Faith and Richard stay back with you?" Victor asks, accusation in his voice. He told them that I was more important than anything else, even their own lives.

"They couldn't," I say. "What we learned was too important. If they hadn't made it, no one would know about Sin's army."

Victor nods, swallowing his anger, washing it away with reason and sense. "Then tell me about the mountain. The throne. The ash. When I got there with Jeff, I had no idea what I was even looking at or why Sin would take you to a place like that. What did it all mean?"

I'm not ready to go there yet. "It was nothing," I lie. "Just aa""

A thunderous sound echoes around me. The ground beneath my feet begins to tremble.

Victor and I spin toward the commotion. I didn't realize how far we'd wandered. We're standing at the edge of town. People are starting to gather at its center. The door to the doctor's house bursts open and George rushes out with Dr. Jameson and Jeff on his heels. Michael is striving to catch up, but he's still weak from his wounds.

"Come on," Victor says, grabbing my hand.

We run over to where George, Dr. Jameson, Michael, and Jeff are gazing at the growing dust storm in the distance. But what's causing it?

My mind races to Sin and his horde of Day Walkers. The thought of what they would do to the people in this town sends terror through me. Then I realize the car is what must have led them here. It's loud, its lights serving as a beacon in the darknessa"

But it isn't Sin. As the four hors.e.m.e.n gallop into town, they stop and let the air settle into stillness around them. The beasts beneath them neigh and paw at the ground.

"Well, boys, it looks like the rumors were true," the obvious leader says. He looks to be in his late twenties. Like him, each of his friends is cloaked in a long coat, chaps, and gloves. "A whole town, somewhere in this G.o.dforsaken desert, just waiting to be drained."

Licking his lips, he proudly displays his fangs.

Beside me, Victor tenses and I know he's preparing to attack, to protect these people who gave us shelter.

George drops his large hand on Victor's shoulder. "Don't worry yourself. We can take care of these pests on our own."

He ambles forward with confidence. "Brave man," Victor murmurs, but I know he'll only honor George's request up to a point. He won't stand by while humans die.

"You boys should just head on out," George says. "Ain't no need for any trouble."

"There won't be any trouble," the vampire says, sliding off his horse, his spurs clinking as he lands. Judging by his attire, he was once a cowboy who herded the cattle that now roam free. When a human is turned, he tends to cling to what he was before, even when he l.u.s.ts for blood. "In fact, we'll be able to take this town real easy."

The others dismount, their rumble of laughter and expectations at easy pickings echoing around them. But something incredible is already beginning to happen.

Rather than running off in fear, the townsfolk are surrounding them. The Lessers look around, unable to hide the strange nervousness they're feeling, obviously unaccustomed to any sign of bravery from humans. They wanted a town with inhabitants afraid of even one pair of fangs, let alone four.

"All right," the leader says, raising his voice in an attempt to calm his troops and intimidate the growing crowd. "The first person to step forward I will personally turn. No more running from vampires. You'll become one."

No takers. Not a single one. Instead, stakes are pulled from belts and boots. I'm impressed by the resolve of the townspeople to protect themselves.

"Last warning, friend," George says, placing his gun on the ground and pulling out a pair of his own metal stakes. "The dust in this town ain't sand. It's vampires. You hear me?"

"Maybe. But it'll all be blood by morning."

"Something's off here," Victor whispers. "I was distracted, didn't notice it before."

"What?" I ask.

Without a word, he pulls a stake from within his duster and steps slowly in front of me. With an Old Family vampire here, I feel better about our odds. Much better.

Michael and Jeff also have stakes in hand. Michael hands me one. I welcome its weight against my palm.