"Getting hotter," Haven commented.

She nodded. She could hear water running in the distance, and didn't think it had anything to do with decorative fountains. She glanced toward the hallway on their right. The heat was coming from that way. And something that gave her a very bad feeling.

"What if the place is on fire?" she questioned. "Wouldn't there be alarms going off? Sprinkler systems working? The fire department notified?"

Haven followed her gaze, with noticeable reluctance. "Emergency systems are likely set up in sectors. The hotel's huge, makes sense that alarms would only go off in the trouble spot. Everything would be monitored in the control center."

Valentine balled her fists in frustration. "And the command center is currently manned by unconscious nest members." There was magic swirling and building behind the closed theater doors, and it wasn't nice. There was magic coming from down that hall. And "Smoke," Haven said.

Valentine sniffed. The smoke was invisible, but it was there. "The place is on fire."

"I figured that out."

People were all around them. "n.o.body else knows. We have to get everyone out of here."

"We?"

"You're right," she said, whirling toward the theater doors. She looked over her shoulder at Haven. "You sound the alarm. I'll take care of the mortal sorcerer."

"But ! G.o.d d.a.m.n it!" He pulled a sawed-off shotgun out from under his coat. He aimed toward the ceiling and fired. "All right, people!" he shouted over the sudden screaming. "Listen up!"

Well, that got everyone's attention. This was not necessarily a method meant to stave off panic, but Valentine left Jebel Haven to deal with the emergency in his own way. She moved to the doors, and slipped inside the darkened auditorium.

"Look at me! Look at me!"

Ben followed the voice. The hunt hunger was growing. That should have made him sharper, but - Reese - the voice up ahead - Reese twisted him. Made the hunger - the beast's - his - enemy. Couldn't think and be beast. The closer he got to Reese - the harder it was to think.

Part of the spell? A way Reese had of controlling him?Ben was too stubborn for that. He moved slowly, like swimming through hot tar, but he moved. Moved down halls, through doors, around backstage props. Reese had two a.s.sistants. Had. They'd seen Ben. Tried to run. Tried to warn Reese. But Ben was fast.

He hadn't felt them die, but they wouldn't be getting up for a while. Wouldn't be warning anyone that beasts were roaming the world.

Reese wasn't missing them. He wasn't doing stage magic tonight. Ben could feel the power gathering. Maybe that was what was sucking the life - the smarts - out of him. Even if he went mad, or lost every grain of intelligence, he was going to get his prey.

Had to - save the f.u.c.king day.

He got closer to Reese, one step at a time. Now he could hear the voice.

The voice was saying, "Listen to my voice. Look into my eyes. Let go. Lose yourself. Lose yourself in me."

For a moment Ben was caught by the soothing murmur, felt the lines of power snaking out, grasping for control. But he didn't stop moving forward, inch by slow inch, even in the moment of wanting to be seduced.

He was already Reese's prisoner. Not going to get in deeper. He could feel people out there beyond the stage lights, responding, listening, wanting.

Had to save the others from Reese.

He finally reached the back of the stage. Stepped onto it, into lights.

And knew Reese was waiting for him.

Reese turned and smiled, and waved him forward. A trap already set for the beast. A triumphant display of what Morgan Reese could do. Ben snarled. He put up a struggle, but he moved forward. Which was what he wanted to do anyway. Reese kept smiling, even if he was aware of Ben's fangs, and reaching claws.

Valentine put away her cell phone and finally turned her attention to the stage. She'd been aware of the sorcerer cajoling the audience that had come to see a magic show. He had a very nice, very persuasive voice, but she didn't pay attention to the words as she stood in the back of the dark theater making a quick call.

She was near the doors, but out of the way, and disgruntled people had been filing out in a steady stream past her the whole time she was on the phone. Many complained about Reese's failed attempt at ma.s.s hypnotism nonsense on their way out, grumbling that this was not what they'd paid to see. She didn't blame them for going. Hotel shows in Las Vegas were not cheap, and fake tricks were far more impressive to most people than the real s.h.i.t the ugly guy on stage was pulling.

Running her gaze over the auditorium seats, she saw that maybe a dozen mortals were gazing fixedly at the sorcerer. These were the few with some psychic gifting. Other people were still in their seats, looking bored or suspicious, waiting for something interesting to happen. She considered that it might be best not to confront the sorcerer until she got all the mortals out of there.

"I suppose I could yell 'Fire!'" she murmured. And it would even be the truth.

She heard the voice droning on, but her attention wasn't drawn to the stage. A collective gasp went up from what few people were left in the audience. Looking at Morgan Reese, she saw that he'd decided to incorporate a vampire into his act.

The vampire was a big male, rather gloriously naked, with a full hunting hard-on.

Valentine couldn't help but smile. "Looks like the show just stopped being PG-13."

Taking a more dispa.s.sionate look at the vampire, she saw how hard the hunter fought against the mortal's control. This wasn't one of the poor junkies who'd been rendered mindless when the bolt of magic struck. This one retained intelligence. And he was totally p.i.s.sed off at the mortal who thought he was the one in control.

"Arrogant, untrained, wanna-be wizard," she murmured. Trouble was, Reese did have control.

Enough to keep the hunter's fangs and claws at bay. He let the vampire take swipes at him, snap at him, and dodged and danced away. He made a show of humiliating the vampire, and the remainder of the audience applauded.

It was a dangerous game, and Valentine let it go on. She let the magician dance, and the vampire grovel. She wrapped shadows around herself, just a little. The magician didn't notice her moving up the center aisle toward the stage. The man was full of power, but too full of himself. He focused on putting on a show. She drew closer. Closer.

The magician was calling the vampire names now. He'd picked up a fake sword and stabbed and struck at the vampire. The vampire threw back his head and howled.

Reese laughed. And so did the audience.

Valentine stepped up on the stage, dropped shadows and psychic shielding to announce her presence in several ways, and said, "Hi, there."

Reese felt her presence as the blow she intended. He spun toward her, mouth gaping.

Behind Reese, the vampire howled again. And punched a hole through the mortal's chest from behind. Bone cracked, blood spurted, and Reese's open mouth screamed and screamed.

Reese lived long enough to be spun around, and see the vampire holding his beating heart in his bloodied claws. Valentine doubted if the overconfident mortal was still alive when the vampire began to eat the warm, red heart.

Valentine heard the screams and the stampede from the auditorium. She was glad she'd decided not to wait to get the audience out first, as letting them watch a hunter take prey was a good way of evacuating the place without having to explain the situation. She did watch to see if the vampire would go after the fleeing audience, but she didn't have to worry about stopping him.

As soon as he'd finished with the heart, he collapsed on top of the b.l.o.o.d.y body. Slowly, with far more effort than it should take, the vampire resumed human form. He lay on Reese for a few seconds, spent, shaking. Valentine waited.

When he looked up, he was crying. "He killed Clare," the vampire told Valentine. "Burned her to death. Used her to make magic."

Valentine was aware of the grief, and the self-recriminations. She guessed that Clare had been this vampire's companion. She guessed that Clare's last name was Murphy, and had been Haven's informant inside the hotel. And that this was the vampire Haven had seen giving Reese the spell book. So what had happened to the companion was this vampire's fault. She didn't point this out; the vampire already knew his crimes.

"You got even," she said. "We always do. Now." She bent down, avoided a pool of blood, and pulled the vampire off the cooling body. "Tell me how this b.a.s.t.a.r.d burned your Clare Murphy to death."

Chapter 19.

IT WASN'T FAIR. It never was. Hadn't it been enough that he'd brought the warning? No. They'd betrayed him. Valentine had left him alone. Now these two had dragged him into a scheme that could get him killed. They were making him march through a dark parking lot toward the most frightening thing in this town. There were a few cars dotting the expanse of the lot. Eddie knew Duke could be hiding behind any one of them. "I don't want to die," Eddie said. "I'm too old to die."

"You are so pathetic," the female Nighthawk complained.

The pair were walking behind him. They'd told him they were going to guard his back, but he doubted it. "I was born pathetic. It's a valuable survival skill."

"Must be," the male said. "You're still around."

"Maybe we won't have to kill the Enforcer," the woman said.

She was pitiful. Eddie glanced furtively back at her. "He's crazy," Eddie said. "They've tortured him. Drugged him. He was dangerous even before the magic changed him."

While Eddie did not know this for a fact, he did know that he'd betrayed Duke to Martina's people. He was sure Duke knew it, and that Duke was coming after him.

"You have to kill him," he told the young Nighthawks. "To protect us all. And the mortals," he added slyly, knowing that the girl at least was interested in mortals' welfare.

Char wished she'd never answered Eddie's complaints. His voice was irritating, almost more than his att.i.tude. She couldn't imagine how the lovely and mysterious Valentine could have once had him as a mortal lover.

Mortal lover. She thought about Jebel, who wanted to marry her, and smiled. Then she thought about Sterling's contention that there was a possibility that Nighthawks didn't need mortal lovers. Was that why she hadn't taken Jebel as a companion yet?

Because she could love him without possessing him?

She glanced at Geoff Sterling, walking beside her. She should be keeping her full attention on the matter at hand. Sterling had stripped off his jacket, and his black shirt was unb.u.t.toned, revealing a broad chest and a nice six-pack of abs. She was mostly certain that his flashing skin had nothing to do with his efforts to seduce her.

What she was certain of was that shifting into full Nighthawk form was not something Sterling was used to. When the transformation happened, body ma.s.s didn't change, but shape did shift somewhat, bulk up. Wearing comfortably loose clothing came in handy. Personally, Char preferred wearing sweats while working, but the knit shirt and shorts she was wearing now did the job. She'd stashed her sandals in a huge flower container back on Fremont Street. She looked at Sterling's feet.

"You might want to ditch your shoes. Back claws come in handy."

After a moment's surprise, he gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah. Forgot about that."

He stopped to slip off his shoes and socks. She waited with him, but kept her eyes on Eddie as the old vampire continued across the wide expanse of the lot. The parking lot covered a large area, and was bounded by busy streets on all four sides. The bright flash of headlights formed an almost solid wall of light around the place where they stood in darkness. The lot was adjacent to a fenced-off construction site of several acres. Char supposed this was the location for yet another hotel casino destination resort. As if the city needed more garish factories built to separate people from their money.

"You're being judgmental," Sterling said.

She jumped a little at the sound of his voice. "I'm allowed," she said.

"Hey!" Eddie called from up ahead. "You two paying attention?"

Sterling let out a hiss of anger. "Why can't he be quiet?"

Char a.s.sumed it was because the weasel was scared. She hurried to catch up with him, and left Sterling to watch her back, while she watched Eddie's."I don't like the dark," Eddie said when she had reached him. "I've never liked the dark."

She almost snapped that if he didn't like the dark, he shouldn't have become a vampire. But then, he hadn't been given a choice, had he? That was what it was like in the old days, vampires taking whomever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

Who was she kidding? Vampires were still allowed to take whomever they wanted. It was wrong, but it was the Law. It disturbed her that she could let herself admit that one of the Laws of the Blood was a mistake. It wasn't that she didn't occasionally entertain thoughts about right and wrong, it was just that now she could blame Sterling for making her question her beliefs. She didn't want to think that Geoff Sterling could influence her about anything.

Pay attention! It's dangerous out here!

Char wasn't sure if the thought had originated within herself, or if Eddie or Sterling had projected it at her. Wherever it came from, it was a necessary reminder.

Paying attention, Char took a slow look around, with all her senses on alert. Magic still drifted through the air, like smog. There were shadows all around, making black holes in the night. Flights coming and going from McCarran crisscrossed in front of the full moon and the spear of light stabbing up from the tip of the Luxor pyramid. The lights of the hotels blazed away in the distance, but out here it was all very mysterious, the darkness velvety and dense.

Geoff hung back and watched Char watch the night. There was a lot he could learn from her, even if she wasn't the most experienced Enforcer on the Council's payroll. From what he could figure out, she was more of a researcher than an active member of the force. He hadn't known the Enforcers did anything other than slay stray strigs and so-called Law breakers. Val had promised to teach him a few tricks whenever the urge to hunt came upon him. But since he hadn't felt any need to thin the strigoi herd since the night she'd brought him through the second rebirth, no instructions had been forthcoming.

Maybe it would be more fun to sign on as apprentice Hunter to Char. There was a lot they could teach each other. A lot of the psychic and magical world they could explore. For example, how was it they had met in midair over the daylight city? It had been a very different sort of astral projection from their meeting inside their heads last day. There was so much that vampires and Nighthawks were not taught about their abilities. Having had that taste of flying in the sunlight with Char, he wanted to learn what kind of power they really had. He felt there was a purpose in their being drawn together. All Geoff had to do was convince her to dump her mortal and come away with him. How hard could that be?

"Jebel," Char said, suddenly coming to a stop and lifting her head. Geoff felt the shudder of dread go through her. She whirled around to face the Silk Road in the far distance. "Jebel's in trouble. Something's going to happen."

Geoff hurried up to Char, and Eddie backed away from them. "He can take care of himself," Geoff reminded Char. "Focus."

"Yeah, focus," Eddie called from deep shadow.

Then Eddie screamed as Duke rushed toward him, shedding shadow like a discarded cloak. Char transformed. Geoff shifted shape without even thinking about it. Muscles rippled and bulked up, claws sprang out, long, sharp, and deadly. His face transformed into a hideous, heavy muzzle. Senses sharpened. It felt good. It was a totally freeing experience.

Geoff growled, fought the urge to howl with pure joy. And jumped when Eddie fired the heavy rifle at the attacking Nighthawk. The stench of burning flesh scented the air. Duke yowled in pain. The noise of the rifle blended with Duke's shout of rage. The Enforcer didn't wait to be fired on again. He leapt at Eddie.

The old vampire backpedaled and tripped over his own feet. Duke flew at him as he went down, flat on his back on the potholed concrete. But Char was there, barreling into Duke from the side. Duke spun to face her, and they went at it, snapping and clawing.

Geoff stared in amazement for a moment.

Two Nighthawks fighting was a rare thing in their world. Seeing a pair of equals go at it all fang and claw and deadly speed was an amazing thing to experience.

Rage and hunger crackled out from them. Hearts thundered. Death waited.Char clawed open Duke's back. Blood spurted and spattered the ground. Duke snapped at her shoulder. They rolled together across the parking lot.

Geoff ran forward. Nighthawk or not, that was also Char taking hits from a Nighthawk male much bigger than she was. He grabbed the huge rifle from Eddie, who still cowered on the ground. Geoff raced after the struggling pair, aware, but not caring, when Eddie jumped up behind him and fled away from the fight.

Geoff fumbled with the rifle, only to discover that in his current shape it was no good to him. The trigger hadn't been designed to accommodate his huge, Nighthawk claws. So he ran up to the fight. Duke was crouched over Char, snapping at her throat as she held him off, his fangs inches from her face. Geoff smashed the heavy weapon across the back of Duke's head.

It barely got the other Nighthawk's attention, but it was enough for Char to push Duke back a few inches. Geoff used the s.p.a.ce to grab Duke around the neck and haul him all the way off of Char. Char rose to her knees, buried her claws in the tough flesh over Duke's heart. Geoff held Duke while he yowled and writhed. Then he buried his own muzzle in the back of Duke's neck, biting into Duke's spine. Geoff shook Duke like a terrier with a weasel, all the while savoring the taste of blood and bone in his mouth. Char went for Duke's heart. Duke screamed, and screamed, until the screaming abruptly stopped. Geoff and Char let the dead body drop at the same time.

Char had Duke's heart in her hands. She bit into it, then raised her muzzle and met Geoff's hungry gaze. For a moment he thought they were going to fight over the prize, and excitement at the possibility thrummed through him, hotter than l.u.s.t.

Then Char tossed the other half of the Nighthawk's heart to him, and Geoff gulped down the prize, felt fresh power pump through him. This time Geoff did throw back his head and howl in joy.

"You sound like a werewolf," Char said, disapprovingly, as she turned back to her human form.

Geoff spent one more moment enjoying the victory before he took on his normal shape. "Don't insult me," he answered. They knelt on either side of Duke's body. Char was wiping her b.l.o.o.d.y hand's on Duke's shirt. "Don't tell me that wasn't fun for you?" Geoff questioned.

"Of course it was fun," she answered. She looked at him with deep disapproval. "I hate that it was fun."

"You're repressed."

"We just killed one of our own," she reminded Geoff. "I don't like the precedent." She looked around, as though searching for Eddie. "Neither of us could have done it alone. Or without Eddie's help."