Then it clicked in my mind, and I whispered to the tempest around me.

"I forgive you, Joachim."

The shrieking died; the wind ceased. My eyes slid open once more. Grit covered everything, and I stared down at my feet, where the sand lay in a perfect circle before me on the flagstones. As I watched, the circle of sand seemed to melt into itself, turning liquid and glowing bright. The circle raised into the air, circling around me, a singing hum replacing the whispers.

"The halo!" the queen cried behind me, rapturous.

It spun above my head, a flashing circle of pulsing light and humming air. I reached one hand up to grab it and the halo fell onto my fingers, pulsing and cool. It felt like smooth glass, glowed like amber, and I could hear Joachim's sighs of sadness emanating from within. Clutching the halo in my hands filled me with sadness that so much pain and misery was going to be devoured by the queen or Uriel simply for the power it could give them. They didn't care about the man himself, only what he could do for them.

I wondered if Joachim's whole mortal life had been like that. It made me sad.

I turned and regarded my distant audience. All eyes were trained on me, from the angel's lackeys to the vampire goons. The queen was rapt, her hand outstretched as if she could snatch the halo from my hands. Even Uriel seemed dazed by what he was seeing, his mouth hanging open.

I took a few steps forward, the halo clutched tightly in my hands. As I watched all those eyes on me, I wondered-what now? Who do I give it to?

I hesitated, and all hell broke loose.

The queen grabbed Zane and dragged him against her body, her fangs extended a scant inch from his neck. "Give me the halo," she hissed, "or I will drain your lover dry of every last ounce of blood. His flesh will wither and his soul will become mine to command."

By the way that Zane blanched, I knew her threat wasn't idle.

The sound of a gun being cocked brought my attention the other way. I looked over to see Uriel's gun now aimed directly at Stan. "Bring me the halo, or you will have the murder of this young man on your eternal soul."

"You can't kill him," I bluffed. "You're an angel." No way was he going to face eternity stuck down here with the rest of us.

A gun cocked behind him, and I saw one of his crew aim his gun at Stan.

"No," Uriel agreed. "But one of my disciples will kill him instead."

"No!" Remy shouted, shaking her head and trying to maneuver herself in front of Stan. "Leave him alone. He knows nothing about this. Take me instead."

The priest laughed. "Why should I, when I have all the leverage I need?"

"Jackie, give up the halo to Uriel. Let him destroy me-I don't care." Noah's voice was calm as he sat up. Cuts and bruises covered his handsome face, his blond hair was matted against the side of his cheek, but he was still inhumanly beautiful, his chiseled mouth stern as he looked at me. "It's the only logical thing you can do."

Compelled by the sound of his voice, I took a few steps toward Uriel. I didn't want to, but I couldn't refuse a direct order from my master.

"Do something," I heard the queen hiss to Zane.

"Jackie, stop," Zane insisted.

I halted just inches inside the boundaries of the temple. Huh?

"Don't give it to him," Zane said, his voice strained. "Give it to the queen."

I turned and headed away from Uriel, my hand outstretching to give the halo to Queen Nitocris. Damn-he was was my- my- "Stop, Jackie!"

Noah's voice caused me to stop again. Frustrated, I turned to stare at him, my mind hazy with the conflicting orders.

"Jackie, bring the halo to me ... and the queen," Zane added at the last moment.

I started forward again.

"Stop!" Noah demanded once more.

I complied, extremely irritated now. "Will the two of you make up your freaking minds?" I shouted.

I heard Remy's gasp of shock. "Zane-he's her other master. Her vampire master."

She was even slower than me, but she got there. Suddenly I remembered ...

A dark-haired man kissing me on my cheek as he lay me down in a Dumpster. "Sweet dreams, Princess."

Zane standing over me when I first met the vampire queen. "You'd better tell her." And I'd blabbed my story despite my fear.

"You have always been special," he'd argued with me, bending down to kiss my flesh as we lay in bed together.

I'd been such a fool. He'd been so subtle about it that I'd never even imagined, never even dreamed ...

"You asshole!" My eyes welled up with unwanted tears. "Did you ever not not lie to me?" lie to me?"

"I never lied to you about that, Jackie." Zane's expression was solemn as he met my eyes. "You never asked."

"Yes, I did," I protested, thinking back to our conversation in the museum.

"So, have we met before? Because you sure seem familiar to me." I couldn't help but ask him. "I don't suppose you hang out in dark alleys near nightclubs, looking for dorky girls to molest?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. I was just wondering if you were my vampire master, or something. Forget I asked."

He'd never responded directly any time I'd asked. My questions had been met with a smile and a subtle topic change, and I'd been too flustered to notice.

"I did did ask," I protested, glaring at him. "You never answered." ask," I protested, glaring at him. "You never answered."

"I gave you an answer. Just not the one you were looking for."

"That is totally beside the point, and you know it," I yelled, my hands tightening around the halo. "How could you do this to me?"

"I have never lied to you, Jackie," Zane repeated.

I thought hard. "And the slavers thing?"

Zane visibly deflated and his mouth softened as he regarded me. "That was the only thing, Jackie. I swear. Think back. Have I ever forced you to do anything that you didn't want to do?"

"You mean, besides this whole Red-Light Green-Light game that you and Noah are forcing me to play?"

His head cocked to the side and he gave me an exasperated look. "Have I, Jackie?"

Oddly enough, his repeated words calmed me from the fury that was overtaking my mind. I remembered Zane kissing my flesh, looking up at me moments before I'd drifted off to sleep after we'd made love. I'll never make you do anything you don't want to, Jackie. I'll never make you do anything you don't want to, Jackie.

I believed him, of all bizarre things. And I relaxed.

"Unfair advantage," Uriel shouted off to the side of me. "Don't make me do something we'll both regret, Jacqueline!" He sounded furious, frantic, on edge.

"Jackie," both Zane and Noah began at the same time, and I backed up, stepping away from the temple's edge.

I thumped into something solid. Turning, I looked into Remy's drawn, beautiful face.

"I need that," she said, pointing at the halo. "Give it to me."

Confused, I held it closer to my side, the sad whispers echoing through my mind. When had she entered the temple? "Remy, what are you doing?"

"He's going to hurt Stan, and I can't let him do that. We're screwed either way-at least let me save Stan." She took a step toward me. "I can't live with an innocent human's death on my conscience."

Remy was deadly serious. I took a step backward, glancing over at Zane. His face was drawn, pale, his eyes glued to us. He shook his head and closed his eyes, bracing for the worst. He wouldn't try to influence me anymore.

It broke my heart. I clutched the halo tighter to me and shook my head vehemently. "No, Remy. I can't let you give it to him."

"You can't give it to Nitocris," Remy argued. "She'll turn us all into her underlings. Now give me the halo and let me save Stan!"

"He's just a human boy," Nitocris purred behind me, sensing my weakness. "Wouldn't you rather save your vampire lover? Your master? Your fate is tied to his, after all."

I hesitated when I heard Zane's muffled groan of pain. I had no doubt that the queen would torture him to try to get me to hand the precious halo over to her, and even though I had no choice but to ignore it, I still paused.

Remy's hands slapped at mine, and she made her play for the halo. It flipped in my hands, flying into the air. The world stood still for a moment as the beautiful, shining object became airborne. My fingertips brushed against it and I grasped it once more, only to find Remy's hand clasping the opposite side of the small band of amber light.

She gave it a fierce tug, trying to yank it from my hands. "Give it to me!" she cried.

"I can't," I said, nearly sobbing. "We can't give it to either of them."

"I have to save Stan," Remy said between gritted teeth. "Uriel will save Noah if we give him the halo; I know it."

"How do you know that?" I screamed. do you know that?" I screamed.

"What other choice do we have?" Again Remy yanked on the halo, and I concentrated on keeping my fingers locked around the slender band.

What about Zane? my brain insisted. my brain insisted. You trusted him and he betrayed you, over and over again. How can you save him now? You trusted him and he betrayed you, over and over again. How can you save him now?

I weakened for a moment, and Remy gave a fierce tug. My sweaty hands slipped from the halo and she went tumbling backward, falling against the thick temple flagstones.

The world seemed to slow down. I watched, helpless to move, as Remy tumbled to the earth. The halo lifted from her hands for a moment, then crashed against the stones near her head.

It shattered with a thousand points of light. The golden fragments gleamed for a moment, spilling over her body, then sank into her skin, disappearing forever.

Remy stared up at me in surprise.

The whispers grew loud for a moment, then vanished in the wind.

Twin anguished cries of pain drew my attention. I looked over and saw Nitocris and Uriel screaming in agony at the loss of the halo. The body of the priest shuddered with convulsions, then dropped to the ground, the gun dropping with him.

The queen released Zane and buried her head in her hands, shaking violently. "You dare to thwart me?" she hissed, raising her bloodred eyes to mine. "You have earned my undying vengeance."

"Hey," I protested weakly. "It wasn't me who broke it." I pointed at Remy. "She's your girl."

The queen hissed at me, revealing the largest set of fangs I'd ever seen, then gave an unholy scream. "This is not over!"

As I watched, black wings tore out of the flesh of her back and erupted in a wet coil of leathery flesh and sinew. They weren't the beautiful, feathered fall that Zane had; her wings were monstrous, leathery creations that unfurled over her head. She flung Zane to the ground and launched herself into the air, followed by the mass exodus of her goons. Black wings filled the sky for a moment, blotting out the sun.

They left nothing behind but a flood of silk suit jackets and one lone vampire. Noah and Stan watched me from the sidelines, untying each other and rubbing their wrists.

I looked down at Remy, who still lay on the flagstones. "You okay, Remy?" I offered her my hand.

"Who?"

The voice that answered me was deep, masculine and hollow, and definitely not not Remy. Remy.

"Er ... Remy?" My blood froze as I stared into her eyes. They were clear as glass, and I saw flashes of blue and red warring in them. "Are you okay?"

I watched her face contort for a moment, then her eyes swam blue. "Jackie?" Her voice was confused, and she took my hand as I helped her up.

"Is something wrong? You didn't sound like yourself for a minute there." Fear was clenching at my insides, but I forced my voice to remain casual.

"I'm only half me," she said, extending her hands in front of her and staring at them as if she'd never seen them before. Her eyes flicked red as she felt her own breasts, then slapped her hands away. "Hey! Quit touching me!"

I glanced over at Noah with a puzzled look. "Do you know what is going on?"

Remy touched her hair, felt her breasts again, then gave me a frustrated look. "I can tell you what's going on. He's inside me, hogging my space!" can tell you what's going on. He's inside me, hogging my space!"

"Who's inside you?" inside you?"

"Joachim," she said flatly. "The halo absorbed into my body when it broke. I've got his powers-and his mind-inside my own." Her hand snaked up to touch her face, as if feeling out unfamiliar territory. Her mouth trembled a bit at the touch of her fingers.

"Oh lord," I said, my hands covering my mouth in shock. "Are you okay?"

Remy snorted, forcing a grim smile. "As long as I don't get the urge to watch football and scratch my crotch, I'll be just fine." She stomped across the temple boundaries and over to Stan's side, dusting him off.

I shook my head, wondering. My guess was that Remy would explain later, when she'd had more time to adjust. For now, we had to get out of here.

But-rush to Zane? Rush to Noah? I eyed the two men for a heartbeat. Noah sat up in the sand, his hand pressed to his forehead as he looked around.

Zane was still crumpled in the sand.

Guilt warred with my anger and my concern for Zane. I raced to his side, lifting his cheek gently off the sand. Blood covered his neck from the gouges Nitocris had bitten into his flesh. She'd chewed on him like he was nothing to her, and the sight chilled me.

His face rolled toward mine and his sleepy eyes focused on my face, his hand reaching up to brush my cheek. "I'm cast out, Jackie. A renegade."

"We'll figure something out, Zane," I said, the words sounding empty in my own mind. Guilt threaded through me. What was he going to do? A liar and a cheat he may be, but I couldn't abandon him now. Not when he'd risked everything for me.