Sorley's voice held a surliness Ronan hadn't heard nor expected to hear from Sorley ever. It didn't make sense, but his jolly friend turned argumentative in no time.

Apprehension crawled up his spine. Was his friend's behavior a symptom of what this town faced?

All around them people scurried in a panic and some wouldn't come out of their homes at all. Few people moved down the street, still slick with ice. None of them guessed two vampires conversed telepathically only a few steps from them. The entire scenario since they'd wandered the streets today felt surreal, a carbon copy of a horror flick with no ending.

Emergency vehicles littered the street as firefighters continued to put out the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other buildings on the street.

To Ronan the real terror came in acknowledging something had gone very wrong with Sorley.

Sorley, this isn't you talking. The ancient one said you'd been touched by the darkest.

He has to be talking about the other evil in the tunnels. The evil that is worse than him.

Did you go to the tunnels while I was arguing with the ancient one?

No. And I don't think I've got any bleedin' problem. I'm all right. Why do you believe what he says anyway?

Sorley, listen. This isn't us. We don't argue like this.

We do now.

No. Think. This could be a symptom of the darkness in this town.

I don't think so, mate. This is you tryin' to tell me what to do every time you get a wild hair up your arse.

You're telling me you can't wait until we get to Erin's and defrost a bag of blood?

Why wait? These criminals are worthless. The jails are full of 'em. I say we eliminate some of the pressure and drain the lot of them.

If Ronan hadn't been ready to strangle Sorley, he might have considered the dark humor.If I hear you've harmed a mortal-

Never mind it. I'm goin' for a walk. I'll be back at the house later.

Ronan didn't know whether to be relieved or more concerned when his old friend took off. His thoughts reeled. Sorley's biting argument had thrown Ronan out of sorts. It couldn't be Sorley's real personality creeping through because Ronan had known him long enough to see into the Irishman's deepest thoughts. Sorley might be a reformed thief, a man who'd done some wild and dishonorable things as a mortal. As an immortal he didn't stray much, despite his wildest talk. Perhaps he should go after Sorley.

No. If he did that he had a feeling there would be a physical confrontation this time.

When he confronted Sorley next he would need tools to fight thedarkest , the total absence of light.

Ronan jammed one hand through his hair and held back a sigh. Apprehension grew inside him and he realized with sudden clarity that Clarissa needed him.

He didn't know why or how, but he had to get back to her now.

Chapter Sixteen

Clarissa stared at Lachlan and Erin for several seconds in pure disbelief. "You mean to tell me that-" She swallowed hard as her voice went high. "That having sex with Ronan is going to make me sick?"

Before they could say anything, Ronan popped into the kitchen.

Clarissa almost came out of her skin. "Jeez, can't you give us somewarning before you do that?"

"No," he said matter-of-factly.

Before Clarissa reacted to his cheeky statement Erin asked, "Where's Sorley?"

Ronan's gaze took on a haunted air, as if a weary burden had been added to his already battered soul. "He's cooling off somewhere."

Lachlan's eyebrows went up. "Cooling off?"

Ronan explained their patrolling adventures. When he finished everyone looked a little stunned, even though what he said didn't surprise Clarissa much. Despite the loyalty Ronan displayed toward Sorley, she'd sensed restiveness, an on-the-edge quality in the other vampire.

Lachlan's displeasure came out as he went to the refrigerator and took out the coffee.

"That little pissant."

"You don't think he'd really hurt a mortal, do you?" Erin's voice took on a vein of fear that echoed in Clarissa's heart. "I mean, he's a bit naughty sometimes, but hardly the type to turn rogue."

Lines formed between Ronan's eyebrows as he brooded. "Naughty? That's not a word I'd use for a vampire, if I was you."

Determined to put a little levity in the room, Clarissa said, "What about stubborn, strong, and most annoying?"

Ronan strode toward her chair, his gaze tangling with hers in a heated way that made her stomach clench from arousal and not nausea. "Why do I get the feeling you're not talking about Sorley?"

She waved a dismissive hand as he stood close to her. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

Tiny flames jumped into his eyes and despite the fact their friends stood around them, another hot flare of desire stirred inside her. His glare held hunger and exasperation melded. He made one of those typical male grunts females had been hearing since humans walked out of caves.

As he peeled off his cloak and tossed it on a chair, Erin went around closing the blinds to keep out the encroaching morning sun.

Lachlan seemed eager to return to the patrolling adventures. As he started the coffeemaker he asked, "So you think Fortesque is off your butt permanently?"

Ronan shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe for a little while."

Erin sighed. "What Clarissa saw is coming true."

Uneasiness hung in the room like a pall, and the weight of it made Clarissa want to curl up in a ball and erect shields against visions and vibrations that might come to her. Yet she refused to wimp out. These people had become her friends and she needed to help them.

Ronan explained more about what happened, and when he got to the part where he'd encountered the ancient one, Clarissa felt her heart skip a beat. "He's tainted now by touching the ancient one's mind?"

"It's the only explanation I have for his sudden turn in behavior." Ronan marched to the freezer and unceremoniously pulled out a bag of frozen blood. He plopped it in the microwave on defrost.

When the microwave dinged Ronan retrieved his blood packet. He poured it into a large plastic blue tumbler. Clarissa was grateful the tumbler wasn't clear. The last thing she felt like doing was watching him drink a glass of blood. To her amazement he tipped the tumbler to his lips and started drinking. His throat worked and worked. He didn't sip his life force renewal like fine wine, but like the requisite it had become.

When he finished swallowing he licked his lips. A red stain held her attention as it lingered on his top lip. Fascinated, she watched as he licked again and caught all remaining evidence he'd just consumed an entire tumbler of human blood. He captured her gaze a second and the concern she saw there surprised her. It looked as though he felt ashamed of what he'd done, even though it remained necessary. He tore his gaze from hers and went to the sink. He rinsed out the cup, filled it with water, then took several sips of water. Once he'd finished that ritual he placed the tumbler in the dishwasher and leaned back against the kitchen counter. No more signs of bashfulness or worry lingered in his eyes. So she'd seen him consume blood for the first time. So what?

Lachlan went to the small radio sitting on the windowsill and snapped it on. He tuned it to a local rock station. "Maybe we can get more information about what's going on out there."

Sure enough, the news superseded music, the announcer's almost excited voice announcing the bizarre crime wave sweeping Pine Forest. So far there had been two armed robberies at convenience stores, five assaults, and one arson fire.

Then the announcer mentioned the incident at the diner. "This is the second such incident in this diner in the last two weeks. Also, a man was robbed at gunpoint at an ATM, but claims mysterious unseen rescuers subdued his attacker. Not long before this bizarre episode, a woman was almost beaten to death by her estranged husband. This man was found tied up in the woman's home. Police say the 9-1-1 call was anonymous, and the man who assaulted his wife claims he didn't call them and his attackers were invisible and then materialized."