"Your plan is to wait until he grows up?"

"Something like that." She tugged him toward the building. "Come on, let's go teach Bela to fetch."

FIFTEEN.

KRAAS SAW IN ENERGY. THE EBB AND FLOW OF ENERGY constantly streamed across his skin, through his body. The energy of mortal lives was the easiest to read. It was as common as dirt and as dull. Since he'd taken the h.e.l.lhound, energy had burned constantly around him. He'd been able to concentrate on the mortals they hunted because he must. He protected his precious one, he found it prey and helped it hunt, but all the while he was dazzled by the dog's pure, evil fire.

"Such a nice puppy," he said, looking down at the animal trotting beside him. It looked up at him with h.e.l.lfire glowing from its eyes.

It had grown so much that its head now reached Kraas's thigh. Huge fangs sprang out of its wide muzzle. It didn't look a thing like any of its weakling kin the vampires kept shackled from achieving their true beings.

They'd been walking for a long time, but Kraas only now realized that he was following the h.e.l.lhound's lead, lost in the emanations of its power. They were going west, the hound padding along into the desert with swift determination. Why?

Prey, of course. There could be nothing else on the h.e.l.lhound's mind.

Kraas smiled. "You've started to hunt on your own. Good boy! What is it you're after, eh?"

Kraas had to move away from the animal's side before he could send his senses out in search of the prey's energy.

There was another h.e.l.lhound out there, wasn't there? Just barely within Kraas's range of awareness. Even fainter, almost covered by the hound's vitality, there was a hint of vampire. Kraas recognized the vampire's energy signature and threw back his head in laughter.

"It's the child vampire that fancies himself a sorcerer! The one whose spell I rode to fetch you away from Corvei. So, he's out in the desert with your sister. Perhaps she's dining on his guts. Shall we go look? Shall we kill them?"

But the h.e.l.lhound was already loping far ahead. All Kraas could do was run to keep up.

"FANCY meeting you here," Tess grumbled when Dan came up beside her in the deep shadow of a tree. The thrill of delight was something she tried not to show.

It didn't work. His hand caressed the back of her neck and down her spine. "I missed you, too, sweetheart."

"When vampires say 'sweetheart' they can sometimes be taken literally," she reminded him.

"I would never eat your heart," he answered. "You're not a vampire."

She'd have preferred a promise that he'd never harm her, but why should he give her something she'd never give him? Tess turned to look at him. They were standing in the backyard of a house surrounded by yellow police tape. Mortal investigators prowled the premises, but no one noticed them.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Dan. "Surely you didn't follow me to proclaim your undead-dying love?" She kind of hoped he had.

He held her close and kissed her. After he'd sent a major whoosh of excitement through her, he let her go and said, "I found out that Valentine was in Vegas, but it turned out that she'd already left town. Then I caught the news about the mortal deaths and decided to check out what happened. What happened?" he inquired.

Typical strigoi, letting a s.e.xual partner do all the work.

"One of your puppies did this," she told him.

He looked surprised. "One?"

She tapped her nose. "Does this lie? I haven't been able to sniff around much yet, but so far I've picked up traces of one hound and one demon."

"Valentine?"

Tess shook her head. "She's not involved with this pup."

"But a demon is?" He scratched his head, ruffling his thick hair. "Why did both of us make a.s.sumptions about Valentine if she's not involved?" He looked at the defiled suburban house. "There are no coincidences where magic is concerned."

"I've been thinking about that, and my guess is that I a.s.sociated the spell used to kidnap the pups with something she'd use."

He nodded slowly. "Maybe not something she used, but magic she taught someone else. Let's ask the demon about it when we catch up to him."

He smiled in a dangerous way that showed a lot of teeth. Tess found this very s.e.xy.

Since she knew there was no way she could evade Dan's being in on the hunt, she didn't argue about his coming along. But there was something she had to make clear.

"The h.e.l.lhound has killed at least twelve people. It's found its true nature and you can't fix it. It can't be allowed to live."

He stared at her angrily, but she wouldn't flinch or look away. She couldn't back down. It was Dan who turned his back on her.

While he glared into the night, Tess concentrated on sniffing out a trail among all the scents a.s.saulting her senses.

Finally she heard Dan say, "If it's necessary."

She knew he wasn't talking to her, or that she could get anymore agreement than that out of him.

"Whatever," she muttered under her breath.

He turned back to her. For a moment his features were hard as a statue's. Then he sighed and focused on her. "Do you have anything?"

Tess pointed. "They went that way. I'm going to transform and head after them." He put his hand on her arm. "Don't be so old-fashioned. Come on."

He led her to a car parked a street over. She couldn't help but stare at the low-slung auto's gleaming red surface where it sat under a streetlamp.

"Wow."

After a moment's reverent silence, he said, "Go ahead. I've heard it before."

She glanced from the Ferrari to Dan Conover. "The dead really do travel fast."

He went around to the driver's door. "Get in," he told her. "And tell me where to point your nose."

SIXTEEN.

HE'S NOT ONLY GETTING THE HANG OF IT, HE'S GETTING to like it, Valentine thought as she sat on the edge of the ruined bed and watched Yevgeny and Bela.

The pair were on the floor in the middle of the room, and neither of them was currently bleeding. He had the dog on her back, one hand on her belly and the other touching her head. His big blond Russian eyes were closed, his features stern- except for the occasional hint of a tiny smile. He and Bela the h.e.l.lhound were deep in telepathic conversation. And getting along quite nicely for the moment.

Yevgeny had finally gotten the idea that the most important part of training a h.e.l.lhound was conducted from the inside of its bright and stubborn little head.

Valentine nodded in satisfaction that Yevgeny had once again mastered a skill from her.

"Always my smartest pupil. Always the quickest study. s.e.x. Languages. Magic. This." She sighed. "I miss you," she told him, knowing he couldn't hear her. She gave an ironic shrug. "Regret. The spice of life."

A moment later, Yevgeny let Bela up and backed away on hands and knees. The pup was instantly up and coming at him. But Yevgeny shifted shape as she came, going from human form to the fanged and clawed shape vampires called the mask. He drew his lips back and growled. The h.e.l.lhound dropped to her belly and whimpered.

Yevgeny stroked her submissive head. "Good girl." He turned his head to give Valentine a triumphant, fanged smiled.

She gasped. d.a.m.n he made a gorgeous vampire!

TESS'S head jerked to the right as the car pa.s.sed through a crossroad.

"Stop the car!" Tess shouted.

Dan responded immediately and Tess jumped out to taste the air more thoroughly. Dan joined her in the middle of the crossroads.

Stars wheeled above and the roads stretched out across the empty landscape.

"Do you smell that?" she asked him.

"I sense it," he answered. "Strigoi and h.e.l.lhound."

"Nearby." She turned in a slow circle and pointed. "Demon and h.e.l.lhound that way." She glanced at the vampire. "Choose."

He didn't answer, but gestured her back to the car.

?WHAT'S the matter?" Yevgeny asked. He morphed back to his human semblance. "Are you all right?"

Valentine blinked, focused on his concerned face. You're prettier showing your true nature, she thought.

Yevgeny must have caught her thought because he looked startled, but the dog came up behind him and he immediately returned his attention to Bela.

Valentine got up and went to stand by a broken window. She breathed in the cool desert breeze and rubbed her arms. More than air circulated around the deserted motel.

"Something wicked this way comes," she murmured. "Among other things." And stood back to see what would happen next.

SEVENTEEN.

WHEN DAN KICKED THE DOOR OPEN HE WAS TRANSFORMED into full Hunter's mask. Tess came through the window an instant after him in her wolf shape.

The strigoi male jumped to his feet, holding the brindle pup in his arms. "She's mine!" he declared. "Back off, Conover."

"And your little dog, too," a voice drawled from the shadows.

Tess snarled at the other vampire.

Dan stalked toward the blond vampire. He wasn't sure whether he was going to kill the thief or s.n.a.t.c.h the pup first. But he hesitated when the pup lifted its head and growled at him.

Still in the corner, Valentine said, "They've bonded." He glanced her way. She shrugged. "What can you do? It's true love."

"Bonded?" the blond vampire shouted. "No, we haven't! Bela's for Sebastian."

"Think again, Yevgeny," she answered. "Do you really think you can walk away from her now? Look at how he's holding her,"

she said to Dan. "Look at how she's protecting him."

Tess morphed back into her human shape and adjusted the bits of leather wrapped around her to modestly cover herself. She looked like an amazon character in a role-playing game.

Dan came back to his own human form and took a long, hard look at Yevgeny. The younger vampire stared back just long enough to show he wasn't afraid of a fight, then looked away before it became necessary for Dan to prove his dominance.

Smart boy, Dan thought. "Who the h.e.l.l are you? What are you doing with my dog?" He jerked a thumb at Valentine. "And her?

Did you help him steal Baby's puppies?" he asked Valentine.

"Why's the other one with a demon?" Tess put in.

"What other puppy?" Yevgeny asked. "I only took Bela- and I didn't steal her. I left gold for her."

"Oh, s.h.i.t," Tess said. "It was the spell he used. I bet I know what happened."

All gazes turned to the werewolf witch.

"Go on, Tess," Dan said.

"Demons have waited a long time to get their claws on a h.e.l.lhound but they couldn't get to them on their own. They're experts at exploiting other beings' use of magic, but not much good at working spells on their own. They more or less need hosts they can attach themselves to so they can manipulate the host's use of energy."

"Welcome to Witch School 101," Valentine said.

"Don't be mean," Yevgeny told her. "Go on," he urged Tess. "Tell me how I screwed up and involved a demon in this mess."

Tess smiled at the big blond. Dan didn't like it. Valentine sn.i.g.g.e.red.

"My bet is that a demon followed you and stole the other puppy while the spell still held Dan."

"You let a demon into my house?" Dan shouted.