I craned my neck, searching the area for Brother Luther and was relieved to come up empty. Since I hadn't heard back from Lieutenant Bullock, and Alan was incapacitated upstairs, I hoped the lunatic wouldn't show up. According to what Bryce had said, there was already a full dose of misery on tap for the evening.

Misery and a ghost in the mirror.

A velvet voice floated through my mind."My love."

I started to say "Dev-"

"Speak to me silently.In your mind."

I didn't waste any time questioning whether or not I could communicate telepathically. I sent him a bundle of thoughts, emotions, and pictures, sharing everything I knew about Brother Luther, Bryce's intentions, the ritual to trap him, and someone named Lucifer.

"I will not allow harm to come to you. Do not let anyone know you have spoken to me. I will be close by.No matter what."I felt an odd emptiness and knew he was gone.

Bryce's mouth was moving, so I assumed he'd been talk-ing to me. I focused on his words, hoping he'd provide more useful information... why he would be interested in someone like you." "What?" I blurted, annoyed that I'd missed the first part of his sentence.

I held my hands over my ears, pretending I hadn't heard him because of the loud music. He scowled and raised his voice.

"I was saying,Devereux knew when he brought me over that I'd be powerful. He also knew how I felt about him. He's as bisexual as the rest of us. I never did believe his song and dance about waiting for some soul mate or whatever. It's bad enough he's making a fool of himself over a woman. But a human woman is beyond belief."

The evil grin slid across his face again.

"He'll have a long time to regret and reassess his choices. I might still take him back.If he begs."

"Let's dance."

Before I could protest or think of a way to avoid the close contact, Bryce pulled me onto one of the table-free areas where couples were slow dancing.

He put his hands on my rear end and ground his lower body against mine.

I struggled to free my arms from his rigid embrace. He didn't even notice.

He was busy studying my cleavage in the low cut dress."I might just have to sample the goods Devereux is so hot for before the night is over. You've got big tits.

I like that."

He reached a hand around, grabbed my breast, squeezed and laughed.

"More than a handful."

He slid his hand from my breast to the hair resting be-side it and lifted a curl. "And your hair is long. It's almost as pretty as mine.Almost."

If he was waiting for me to compliment his hair, he'd be a rotted corpse in vampire hell before that happened. Thankfully, he didn't have a reaction to my lack of response. He palmed my butt cheeks again, moving us assertively through the crowd. He clearly fancied himself the vampire Fred Astaire. As we circled the dance floor, I searched for familiar faces. I thought it might be easy to pick out the vampires in the sea of wannabes, but it turned out to be more complicated than expected.

The high quality of the costumes, makeup, wigs, and fake fangs, along with the fact that just about everyone in the room wore dramatic vampire costumes, made identifying the bloodsuckers more challenging.Everybody looked like an authentic bloodsucker. But the longer we danced among them, the more I began to notice the familiar tingle when I was in the vicinity of a vampire.And not only that. I was able to intuitively sense the level of the vampire's powers.

Some of them barely sent out enough buzz to charge a flashlight battery, while others came across like a mini cattle prod to the solar plexus. My stomach muscles had repeatedly contracted since Bryce kidnapped us out of my living room-fear tends to do that-so it was a good guess he belonged in the second category.

Apollo had told me that a vampire was only as powerful as the one who made him, so if Devereux was Bryce'smaker, his abilities were probably beyond the norm. Or whatever passed for normal in vampire reality.

Vampire.Reality.Two weeks ago I'd never have put those words in the same sentence.

The slow song ended and the band launched into one of those World Beat compositions that combined African and Latin rhythms. The primitive drumbeats called to the cel-ebrants and the dance floor filled.

I had to admit, most vampires might be sick puppies, but they could dance.

Bryce flipped me around so my rear end nestled against his groin. His arms encircled my waist, pulling me tighter against his apparently ever-present erection, as he propelled us through the cavorting masses.

He boogied, shifting his hips from side to side, forcing me to mimic his movements.

Ever since we'd popped onto the main floor, I'd been so occupied with Bryce, spotting Brother Luther if he arrived, and trying to communicate with Devereux that I'd missed some interesting developments. I'd always thought most men were overly fond of their penises. They were always ready, willing, and able to talk about them, show them to you, touch you with them, or try to sneak them into any warm, wet, available place.

It would appear that vampires have elevated penis fixa-tion to an art form. All around me on the dance floor was sexual activity.Penises being stroked by either the owner or a willing part-ner of either sex.

I'd stumbled into a vampire porn video. Was that what being immortal meant?Blood sucking and masturbation? And why was it only the male vampires? Did something weird happen to testosterone in the trans-formation? Was that the best we could do with eternal life?Perpetual sexual adolescence?

Lost in thought, I startled when a woman screamed a few feet away from me. I was only able to hear it because the tone of her cry was higher pitched than the music. I jerked my head in the direction of the scream saw a woman pinned to the floor by a vampire whose fangs were embedded in her neck. I'd guess she wasn't a willing donor.

None of the bystanders offered to help her. In fact, the attack seemed to excite thestrokers . I struggled to get out of Bryce's grasp and he clasped me tighter, rubbing himself against me, making soft moaning sounds. It was completely stupid of me to think I could do any-thing to make the vampire release hisvictim, but I absolutely couldn't just stand there and watch.

I stomped down hard on Bryce's foot with the heel of my shoe and he relaxed his arms enough for me to slide down through them. I don't think he let go because I hurt him, but because I surprised him. He was obviously distracted. I leaped onto the back of the sucking vampire, who turned out to be a very large, muscular, smelly bloodsucker who flicked me off without even lifting his mouth from the woman's neck.

Laughter echoed around me as I fell to the floor on my back. A hand reached out of a full-length, hooded robe to help me up and I caught a glimpse of a familiar face inside the hood. Even the clown-like vampire makeup couldn't disguise Lieutenant Bullock's distinctive features. I started to acknowledge her, and she stopped me with the slightest shake of her head.

Bryce's arm snaked around my waist again and he jerked me up off my feet, holding my back against his chest.

"Ordinarily, I'd punish you for your absurd actions, but I still need you for a little while longer. You're lucky Lucifer wants you.

"Playtime's over.Let's go back upstairs."

The woman on the floor had stopped screaming and was clearly dead. The crowd actually applauded.

Vampires suck.In more ways than one. I managed to catch Lieutenant Bullock's eyes and shifted mine in the direction of the high balcony, showing her where we were going. She gave an almost invisible nod, lowered the hood over her face and merged into the crowd. Just before Bryce popped us out, I caught a glimpse of several robed figures winding their way toward a doorway.

The music room had been transformed into theChurchofSatan -or the setting for a Black Sabbath concert.Some-thing that required lots of black draperies, upside-down crosses and pictures of ugly guys with horns.

A large circle with an inverted pentagram had been drawn in thecenter of the room and the massive gemstones placed in probably meaningful positions. Some of the mirrors had been decorated with elaborate symbols, and the light from the chandeliers was replaced by the soft, eerie glow of black candles.When we materialized in the room,Raleigh scurried over to Bryce. He frowned as he noted that Bryce held me off the ground, tight to his chest, and that one of his hands had moved from my waist to my breast.Raleigh shot me a dirty look and snarled, showing his pointy fangs.

Jealousy?

Bryce noticed and enjoyedRaleigh 's reaction. He laughed out loud, removed his arms from around me, and I fell in a heapon the floor.Raleigh clutched Bryce's hand like a child.

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dim light, but I was finally able to make out the shapes in the corner. Ron-ald cradled Midnight in his arms and Alan sprawled next to them, still as a corpse. I hadn't allowed myself to consider the possibility that Alan was actually dead, but since it had occurred to me, I had to know. I started crawling in Alan's direction.

I'd just reached Alan, picked up his wrist and detected a light pulse, when the familiar limb closed around me again. Bryce held me under his arm like a rolled up newspaper.

"PlayingFlorence Nightingale, Dr. Knight? Trying to save the handsome FBI agent?My, my. How many men are you servicing these days?

"But you mustn't rattle the blood sacks. I need at least one of them for the ritual.Maybe two."

"What are you talking about? What do you need for the ritual?"Blood."

Do you mean you need to drink blood?" ;You really are a tedious human. Of course I need to drink blood. But this blood's for the ritual. It's the final step. We're going to smear it all over the circle. Quite a waste of food, if you ask me, but the wizard geniuses say it's necessary.

"It will be worth it to have Devereux under my power."He laughed, carried me near the circle and set me on my feet. He positioned himself in front of me, shoved one of his hands down the front of my dress and roughly grabbed a breast.

"'You didn't answer my question,Florence . How many men are you servicing?"

His grip on the tender flesh hurt, but I didn't want him to know that. I breathed in slowly through my nose, using a relaxation technique to lessen my awareness of the pain.

"None of your business."

He squeezed harder and I yelped. My knees gave out. It hurt like a mammogram times a thousand, and he wasn't even trying. My entire breast was going to be black and blue. If he didn't rip it off. Apparently, the protective necklace only worked if it was touched directly. What kind of magic talisman was that?

Smiling, he released his hold, pulled his hand out of my dress and let me fall to the floor. Standing over me, he unbuttoned his pants and was slid-ing down the zipper of his fly when the silence was shattered by an extremely loud pop and Brother Luther appeared.

Chapter 26.

Bryce physically jumped back a few inches, visibly star-tled."Lucifer!"

Lucifer?This isn't Brother Luther? Then who's Brother Luther?

The tall, bald vampire growled, hisdiscolored fangsbared . He stepped over me and stalked towardBryce, whose eyes had gone wide. It didn't take a psychologist to figure out that Bryce was afraid of the foul-smelling creature backing him into a corner.

Bryce's voice quivered. "Lucifer, I wasn't really going to do her. I was saving her for you, just as we agreed."

Lucifer picked Bryce up by his throat, piercing his neck with long, filthy fingernails. Bryce struggled uselessly as riv-ulets of blood trailed down his neck and Lucifer licked them with his long tongue.

Bryce screamed, "Dammit,Raleigh ! The song! Play the song!"

Raleighsprinted over to a boom box propped on a chair. He pressed a button and Brahms's Lullaby floated softly from the speakers. Lucifer continued to suck on the wounds on Bryce's neck, while using his other hand to fondle his ownfavorite body part.

"Crank it up!'" Bryce yelled.

Raleighturned the music up eardrum shatteringly loud and Lucifer pulled back, dropped his hand from Bryce's neck and let him fall to the floor. He relinquished his grasp on his swollen organ and shuffled over to the boom box. He sat in front of it, swaying to the music, humming tonelessly.

Bryce leaped to his feet, massaging his neck.Raleigh rushed to him. "I didgood , didn't I, Master?"

Bryce kicked the small man in the stomach, causing him to double over.

"You almost fucking got me killed, you moron. You should've started the damn CD the momentBizarro Man showed up. You know that's the only way I can control him. Otherwise, he goes fucking ballistic."

Raleigh, who wasn't even as tall as Bryce's waist, hugged him. "I'm sorry, Master. Don't punish me!"

Bryce hesitated for a few seconds, appearing to consider the possibilities in the location ofRaleigh 's face,then peeled the mini vampire off his body. I'd gotten to my feet during the chaos and retreated be-hind a spectacular, mahogany grand piano. I studied the bald vampire who'd inexplicably ceased his rampage and sat hypnotized in front of the CD player.

Shit on a stick. Lucifer's affected by the music. Not only affected, but manipulated-controlled.Ivenever seen a reaction that strong before. He transformed from being a dangerous predator into an almost-childlike state. I never would've suspected. This is one for the psych journals. If they believed in vampires, that is.

My silent diagnostic session was abruptly interrupted. ShovingRaleigh out of his way, Bryce scanned the room and quickly found me. He stalked over, grabbed my upper arm forcefully enough to leave bruises and pulled me to the circle.

The pain of his fingers burrowing knife-like into my arm was so intense I gasped, struggling to catch my breath. He barked, "That's enough bullshit.On with the show."

Several vampires had been busy placing objects inside the circle and drawing geometric shapes around the outside. Others worked in another part of the room, blending the contents of small bottles into a silver cauldron, which bub-bled over a fire.

All of them came to attention at Bryce's command. I hadn't noticed before that each wore a black robe.

Vam-pire monks?Vampire devil worshippers? Lucifer swayed gently, oblivious. Except for one of the bearded vampires who scooped thick liquid from the cauldron into a black cup, everyone else assumed their places in the circle and began chanting. The sound of the chant was different from what I'd expe-rienced with Devereux. That had been melodic. This was more like a deep rumbling sound.

It reminded me of a performance I'd attended by a group of Buddhist Throat Singers. They have the ability, through years of training and practice, to sing two, three or four dis-tinct low tones at the same time. They use it for meditation and trance induction.

Eerie and powerful.

These guys were doing the same thing. It sent chills through me just like it had at the concert. The otherbearded vampire walked the circle, holding a sword straight up over his head. The blade sparkled in the candlelight. He mumbled words under his breath and paused at regular intervals to lower the sword's tip to the floor and up again.

He came to a stop at the point nearest to where I waited with Bryce, whose claw-fingers were still cutting off the cir-culation in my arm. Using the sword, the vampire made a downward swipe and reached his hand through an invisible slash in an imaginary entryway, pretending to hold some-thing open.

Bryce dragged me through. The growling chant rose in intensity. If I hadn't participated in theWiccan coven's ritual years ago, I'd have been surprised by the energetic change I expe-rienced inside the circle.

The air felt thicker, as if it exerted more pressure on my skin. My body seemed to move in slow motion, cotton candy filled my head.

Bryce released me with a push and Isplatted onto the floor.Again.

Not only was my arm throbbing, my hip screamed. I must have fallen on it earlier. I kicked off the only shoe that had made it into the circle and stood.

Bryce yelled toRaleigh , "'When I tell you, turn off the music."

He studied me, amused. "I'm going to summon your blond vampire lover now. Fix your hair. You're a mess!"

I rubbed my arm and gave him a blank stare.

He can't really force Devereux to appear, can he? He's acting very smug and arrogant Even more than usual What if all these vampires together have more power than Devereux?

He laughed and strutted over to the invisible opening, where the bearded alchemist who'd been stirring the foul-smelling brew at the table handed him the black cup.

Bryce muttered something that sounded like strings of vowels and drank whatever was in the cup.

He grimaced, shook his head and bellowed, "Devereux. Come to me."

There was a moment of unnatural stillness. My skin itched as currents of air gathered in the ring. The velocity increased, blowing my hair back from my face and the light flickered, becoming suddenly brighter. A sound-not a pop this time but a full-fledged sonic boom-resonated only seconds before Devereux's shirtless body burst into the circle.

The momentum was powerful enough that he landed on his hands and knees. Bryce dropped the cup he'd been holding, clapped his hands and laughed. He bowed to the circle of chanting vampires."Bravo, gentlemen! You've exceeded all my expectations and will be abundantly rewarded."