"I can't say. I have to access their equipment-centrifuges, microscopes, and so on. I'll do what I can here and bring back whatever else I need to William's. It'll take hours at least, possibly days."

I checked my watch. "It's two A.M. Shift change is at seven, in five hours. I've got to find Sullivan. You're on your own getting out of here without being questioned."

Gerard smiled, showing a hint of fang. "Do not worry, mon ami. I have a few tricks of my own."

"I'll just bet you do." I clapped him on the back and headed for the elevators. When I reached the lobby of the hospital I picked up the courtesy phone. I'd had to give my cell up to Iban since he told his people to call him back at my number. As much as I hated to consider the possibility, I had a hunch as to where Sullivan might be.

I dialed Connie's number. She'd said she was beginning a vacation so she wouldn't be on duty. My dead heart lurched with something like life, or maybe just pain, when she picked up and said, "h.e.l.lo."

"Connie, it's Jack. I'm looking for Sullivan. It's an emergency and I wonder if you've-"

"Hang on," she said.

I swore viciously under my breath. William had told me I had to pick Sullivan up and bring him home, but he didn't say anything about him having to have blood left in his body when I delivered him.

I put the top down on the 'Vette even though it was wicked cold. I needed to cool myself off in a lot of ways. Sullivan was standing in front of Connie's apartment building as I'd told him to. Connie was standing beside him, bundled in her coat over what looked like slinky silk pants. I waited at the curb, looking at the two of them out of the corner of my eye. Before he turned to go, she laid her hand on his arm. My fangs grazed my lower lip and my vision started to go red. Get a grip, man, I told myself.

I hadn't gotten into details with Sullivan on the phone because I didn't want him to give anything away to Connie. I'd just told him there was a "situation" that needed his immediate attention. The last thing we needed was for the human population to get wind of a killer virus on the loose. Iban had said that the humans at the California colony had died, too, and Gerard had ordered a quarantine for all the swans who had partied with the vamps last night. If Sullivan had exposed Connie to something that could kill her...

I wasn't going to think about that. Yeah, right. No more than I was going to think about what she and Sullivan had been up to at two o'clock in the morning in her apartment. He got into the car and shut the door.

"Geez, Jack, isn't it a little cool to have the top down?" Sullivan rubbed his arms.

"You're the warm-blooded one. Deal with it." I put the car in gear and floored the accelerator, flattening the human back against the seat. "Buckle up, b.u.t.tercup." I wished I was back on the highway, where I could give him the ride of his life. As it was, I could only bob and weave around the squares, throwing Sullivan up against the pa.s.senger door as he struggled to buckle his seat belt.

"Hey, mortal on board, man!" Sullivan held on to the door for dear life. Dear life. Now there was a phrase that could resonate.

I sometimes forgot how dear their lives were to humans. And how fragile.

Tough s.h.i.t.

"You're the second guy tonight to complain about my driving, and I just hate that. Don't be such a p.u.s.s.y. Besides, would I hurt Iban's most trusted human?" I looked at him finally, showing full fang. He froze and I saw real fear on his face.

"What's this about, Jack? Is there really something wrong or is this a trick to get me out of Connie's apartment?"

I stomped on the brakes so hard that if he hadn't buckled his seat belt, he would've become a warm-blooded hood ornament.

The humans in their mansions were snug in their beds and the only sound was the purring of my motor. I pinned him with my eyes, which could glow greenish blue in the dark. "Don't ever again accuse me of manipulating Connie if you value your life. I don't care whose little helper you are."

Sullivan swallowed so hard his Adam's apple bobbed. "What's wrong then? Is it Iban?"

I let up on the brake and edged the convertible into the final turn to William's house. "Yes. He's sick."

"Sick?" Sullivan asked, confused. "You...guys are never sick. What-"

"It's worse than that. Some kind of plague has broken out in your colony." I softened my tone at his look of horror. Whatever my problems with him where Connie was concerned, he'd just lost a bunch of his friends and I was sorry to have to be the one to tell him. "The vampires are all dead. Most of the humans, too."

"Oh, G.o.d, no," Sullivan breathed. He put his hands to his face.

I repeated what little Iban had told us about what had happened and summarized what William and Gerard had said in the aftermath. By the time we had pulled into William's driveway, Sullivan looked almost as pale as me in the security lights. "I've got to see how Iban is. Did William put him in his coffin early to sleep or is he resting in the house?"

"He's not here. Gerard put him under quarantine."

"Where is he?"

"With a friend of William's." "Take me to him."

"No can do. It's for your own good. Iban said he didn't want you exposed." By this time, I was going up William's front walk and Sullivan was close behind. He grabbed me by the arm and spun me around to face him. From this distance I could smell Connie's perfume on him, and I tried real hard to keep from hating him enough to kill him on the spot.

"That's bulls.h.i.t. I lived with them the same as Iban. I'm already as exposed as I'm going to get. Now take me to him."

I looked him up and down and sighed. I could tell by the set of his jaw he wasn't going to back down. Besides, he was right.

Iban was already sick and Sullivan himself probably wasn't far behind, quarantine or no quarantine.

"Oh, all right," I said. "Get back in the car."

When we got to Tilly's, Sullivan took the porch steps two at a time. The old girl answered the door herself. "h.e.l.lo, Miss T.," I said. "This is Sullivan, Iban's friend. He insisted on coming."

"Where is he?" Sullivan said, taking her extended hand briefly.

"Downstairs," Tilly said, with a gesture toward the elegant staircase behind her.

He took off toward the stairs as I leaned down to kiss Tilly's lightly rouged cheek. "Sorry about all this."

"I'm just sorry for that poor, lovely Spaniard," she said. She reached up with one delicate hand and fingered the hair at my collar softly. "You'd better go down and explain yourself to William. You know how he is when you disobey him."

"Yes ma'am, I do," I said. "I may need you to help defend me. n.o.body can wrap William around her little finger like you can."

She smiled and I could see the beautiful young woman she once was. "If he gives you any trouble, you just whistle." She looked up at me coquettishly and added, "Just put your lips together and blow."

"You know I will." I gave her narrow shoulders a gentle squeeze and went downstairs.

William opened the door and stopped when he saw me. "There you are. Were my orders unclear?" He voice was low and controlled, probably because Iban was in earshot behind him.

He was close to levitating, but the vibe I was getting from my sire wasn't all about anger. There was grief in him, and maybe even fear. "He insisted. Besides, he's already exposed, so what's the point?"

William exhaled slowly to calm himself. "What's done is done."

"How is he?" I asked. I could hear Sullivan's voice behind William as he spoke softly to Iban. The horror in his tone made me shiver.

"Come and see for yourself. But don't get closer than the doorway. I had his coffin brought in so he could rest easier, but there is nothing else we can do for the moment. We may already be exposed as you say, but...just see for yourself. You may as well know what we're up against."

William stepped aside. Sullivan stepped over the threshold and stopped, blocking my view of Iban. When Sullivan shifted so that I could see, my brain nearly shut down trying to reconcile the face staring back from the pillow with the man I 'd seen just a couple of hours before.

Iban's flesh had turned a mottled gray. His skin sagged away from his cheekbones and hung beneath his chin. Clumps of his hair lay beside his head on the pillow. It looked like death was finally catching up with him and meant to collect its due after having been defied for so many centuries.

As I watched helplessly, a piece of flesh above his cheek let go from his face, leaving the bottom of one eye socket exposed.

Iban shifted his bloodshot, sunken eyes to stare at us. "Is it that bad, Senor Jack?"

I tried to swallow, but my mouth had gone dust dry.

"You're going to be just fine, amigo," I said.

William As usual, Jack had disregarded my orders. Now he would have to do or die.

"Jack, listen very carefully," I said. "This is a matter of great importance to me."

Jack dragged his attention away from Iban and settled it in my direction.

"Go to my home, stay with Eleanor, lock yourselves below floors if you have to. I want her safe and protected. " I started to place a hand on his shoulder but withdrew at the last moment. I had carried Iban inside, then placed him in his coffin. Could a touch infect? There was no way to know yet.

Jack bristled. "What about you? And Iban? What if you need me?"

"I'll call."

Jack looked from me to Iban and back again. "No, you won't," he declared under his breath.

"Jack!" I had to penetrate that thick skull of his. "We each have a job to do. Right now we must wait and gather information- give Gerard some time to work. I need you to be my surrogate and take care of the others: Melaphia, Renee...Eleanor. If we fail then all are doomed. Trust me, I'll call if there is more important news."

Jack gave Sullivan a dark look. "What about him?"

"He must go with you," Iban said, his voice as ravaged as his body.

Sullivan dropped to his knees next to the coffin. "Why? What's the point? If what we've heard is true, then we're the only ones left."

"My dear compadre, if you haven't been infected with this contagion there is no sense in taking such a chance. You've served me well. Now serve yourself. I bequeath my legacy to you. My property, my work-it is your responsibility to live." Iban turned his ruined face away. "Now I order you to go."

Sullivan bowed his head, then slowly pushed to his feet. I stepped out of the room and motioned to Jack to follow.

"For once, I'm glad you didn't do as I asked and instead brought Sullivan here." I stopped speaking and opened my thoughts to him. I don't want him anywhere near Eleanor. Take him to your shop and make him stay there.

"But what about the guys?"

"Send them away."

"Where?" Just do it. I felt my feet leave the polished wooden floor and watched Jack's reaction.

"All right, already." He turned to Sullivan. "Come on. We're gonna take another little ride."

Sullivan seemed too distraught to care.

Just then Tilly came down the short hall from the butler 's elevator, carefully balancing a tray of medicines. The pungent odor of green tea permeated the air. Out of reflex, I took the tray from her, walked past Jack and Sullivan, and placed it on the coffin-side table. Then I looked at Jack. Why are you still here?

Jack clamped a hand on Sullivan's arm and propelled him toward the stairs. "How do you feel about zombies?" he asked.

The next few hours were torturous. Iban rested fitfully as the disease ravaged his body. Tilly's ministrations seemed to ease his suffering but I had no idea what to expect-how long we had before- "Why don't you go up and get some rest, dear?" I said to my old friend. "I can stay with him until dawn. Then he'll need you more than ever."

"I will, in a bit," she answered, totally absorbed by Iban's delirious struggle. "Isn't life strange," she said, almost to herself, "how the wrong ones suffer when many of those who deserve pain and heartbreak escape?"

I slid an arm around her shoulders. "That's an observation only the long-lived could make, my dear," I said, referring to her age and to my own. "The young and reckless are too busy pursuing that elusive idea of happiness. Wisdom carries its own reward."

She looked at me then. "I think I've had about all the wisdom I can stand."

For a long moment, I said nothing. I could feel her physical fatigue and see emotional exhaustion in her gaze. She'd lived through enough woe and grandeur for any five human lives. "At the very least there will be sweet rest for you when you decide to leave us.

But right now let me be selfish and say, Don't go. We need you. I need you."

She sighed. "I'm not as confident as you are about my eternal rest. Not after some of my sins. I 'm fairly sure our maker will frown upon murder and suicide, no matter how many I tried to help." She reached up to squeeze my hand. "But I won't leave yet."

She pulled away and leaned closer to Iban. "Not yet," she whispered.

The cell phone on the night table began to buzz and vibrate like a trapped bee. I 'd made Jack turn off the ridiculous race car nonsense. I caught it as it tumbled off the edge and opened it.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Thorne? This is Tarney. Miss Melaphia said I could get you at this number. Sorry to bother you so late-"

"What is it?"

"Well, Jack told me to call if anything strange happened down here-"

"Go on." My misgivings about losing Tilly solidified into dread.

"There's a ship-at your dock. One of yours, but we don't have one scheduled-"

"Clear the area, immediately. I'll handle it."

"Should I call Jack? He said-" "No. Get your men out of there, now. Leave this to us."

"Yes sir. And I don't mind sayin'-"

I broke the connection, not bothering to redial the blasted cell phone. I opened my thoughts and called for Jack the old - fashioned way, by letting him feel my dread along with his orders. Going to the docks at once. Trouble afoot. Stay where you are. Warn the others.

"Tilly, dear, I have something I must attend to." I shut the phone and handed it to her, then kissed her forehead. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Remember, do not invite anyone inside, no matter who they say they are."

"Don't worry. I understand." Her downcast gaze drifted back to Iban. "I'll look after him until you return."

I arrived at the harbor in time to see the last of the men who'd been on duty with Tarney drive off into the darkness. Without conscious effort on my part, impelled only by my sense of urgency, the gate swung open as though it recognized the Mercedes.

Locks were to keep humans out, not vampires. And certainly not me.