And what kind of shapes would they take? I could be fighting a magic mule one minute and some other form of shape-shifting vamp demon the next. Satan only knew what William and me were going to have to face in the days ahead.

I heard the body parts popping as his arms changed into legs. Short, slick hair sprouted all over him as his clothing ripped away and his hands and feet hardened into hooves. All I could do was stare. It would have been comical had not the animal pulled back his lips to reveal a set of mulesized fangs.

"I reckon it's you what might complain it's not a fair fight this time," he drawled. "Since now I got me the power of a mule."

I tried to keep the image of Francis the talking mule out of my head. This was serious business. Not to mention gross. Yancy, standing upright, towered over me. He struck out with a sharp hoof and I threw myself backward. I managed to dodge the blow but landed in the ornamental shrubs that lined the front of the house. If I survived this a.s.sault, I was going to have a h.e.l.lacious time picking the thorns out of my backside.

I was able to scramble to my feet and into the gra.s.s before he had a chance to regroup. He was having difficulty maneuvering down the steps on his rear hooves, his back to the door. How the h.e.l.l was I going to kill a-a bloodsucking mule? I had no doubt my fangs could penetrate his hide, but it was going to be awfully tricky getting within biting distance. Having my skull cracked open by flying hooves wouldn't kill me, but it would stun me enough for him to do the job with his fangs.

I began to sense another's presence. I glanced toward the windows and saw Deylaud's pale face staring back at me. He held something up for me to see. It was the crossbow William kept hanging on the wall in the downstairs den, loaded up with a stake as big as a baseball bat. I had to work my way over to the door again, as close to Deylaud as I could get.

I nodded slightly to signal Deylaud that I saw. Yancy the talking vampire mule was down on the lawn with me now, so I had lost my brief advantage. I got into a crouch and feinted sideways toward the street. He started to go that way but righted himself again when he realized it was a fake. He was faster than he should have been. A lot faster.

"You and Thorne should'a minded your own bidness," the mule said, its yellowed teeth almost as long as its fangs.

"The welfare of the humans in Savannah, black and white, is our business," I told him. I tried to maneuver myself around so that my back was to the front door, but he blocked me.

"Well, ain't that sweet?" Yancy-mule said, his voice dripping sarcasm. "Let's just see if you can protect the folks behind that door-black and white-from the likes of me." He came for me and I sprang upward, somersaulting over his head and onto his back. Taken by surprise, he hesitated a moment, just long enough for me to grab his mane with both hands and sink my fangs into his neck. He made a hideous noise, somewhere between a scream and a mule's bray, and bucked furiously. I felt like a bronco buster in a rodeo, locking my knees on to the mule's flanks, holding tight to its mane. Only I needed to stay on for a h.e.l.luva lot longer than eight seconds to wear him down, if that was even possible.

As I pulled harder on his mane, he brayed louder and bucked more furiously, sending me tumbling off him and onto my back at his feet. I hit the ground rolling and his right hoof grazed my cheek, opening up a gaping wound. I sprang to my feet, spitting out a chunk of his flesh the size of a baseball. My blood was flowing but his was spurting-I'd opened up an artery. Time would tell if his healing power would close the wound before it weakened him. Too bad time was something I didn't have.

We circled each other again, and I was finally positioned with my back to the door. I backed up a step and threw a glance behind me. Through the pane, I saw Deylaud nod.

The mule man charged me and reared. At the same time, Deylaud threw open the door and tossed me the crossbow. The mule's hooves were high over my head, pawing at the air before starting their downward arc. I put the crossbow against my shoulder, aimed for where I thought its heart was, and pulled the trigger.

It was a good thing the shot was at close range. The mule's hide-not to mention its muscular rib cage-was tough. But the stake pierced it with an awful squishing sound. I staggered backward, unsure if the shot had pierced the heart and still in danger from the flailing hooves even if it had.

The mule man froze in the air on its back hooves like some a.s.s-ugly carousel horse. Then it started to list to its left. In its death throes it morphed back into Yancy the vampire Klansman and I saw the evil in his demonic eyes.

"f.u.c.k you, McShane," he said.

"Go to h.e.l.l, Yancy," I said. "Again."

Speaking of h.e.l.l-as he turned to dust I couldn't help but wonder just what happened to vampires who were killed for the third time. Whatever it was, Yancy was about to find out. I hoped it was nasty.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Deylaud came out to check on me. He was panting, and I remembered how sick he'd been just a few days ago.

"Thanks to you, pal." I handed him the crossbow and staggered into the house. Melaphia, Renee, and Reyha were hugging each other in the foyer. They'd seen the whole thing, and they were terrified.

"Jack, was that what I think it was?" Melaphia asked. She allowed Renee out from behind her skirt now that the vampire was dead again.

"Yes, they're coming. Mel, are your spells ready to close the portal to the underworld? William needs you to work your mojo like right now."

"I-I'm not sure! I've just made a start. I'm not even sure I have everything I need."

"You're going to have to try your best," I told her.

"That's all we can ask. But the portal's wide open and demons like that mule-man are finding their way out. There's no time to lose."

Melaphia drew herself up. "Deylaud, get my bag." Deylaud ran up the stairs to do her bidding. "Jack, do you know exactly where the opening to the underworld is? I think I need to get as close to it as possible." I briefly explained to Melaphia what I'd heard through William as she took the bag from Deylaud. "I'm guessing the epicenter has to be underneath the hospital if it was strong enough to break through the granite and open that steel box," I said. "That's also where they performed the ritual, so I think it's our best bet."

"Let's go, then," Melaphia said.

Renee pulled on her mother's skirts. "Mama, I want to help Uncle William. Can I come, too?"

I started to suggest locking Renee in the vault with Reyha to guard her, but to my surprise, Melaphia said, "Yes, honey. Mama would like that."

I realized that after what had happened to Renee a couple of weeks before, I didn't blame Melaphia for not wanting to let her little girl out of her sight. In fact, as Mel, Renee, Deylaud, and Reyha grabbed their coats from the hall tree and put them on, I was kind of glad that all four of them were coming along, for the same reason: I didn't want to let any of them out of my sight.

"Let's go through the tunnels," I said. "We'll get there faster."

We ran through the tunnels, Deylaud carrying Renee on his back, as fast as we could go, prepared to pop up to the surface through the nearest outlet if an aftershock started. None of us relished being buried alive. To complete my turning, William had buried me undead on the battlefield the night he made me into a blood drinker, so I knew from experience being put into the earth before your time was no fun.

We pulled up short when we got to the place where the earth had caved in. I looked up and saw starlight through the hole in the pavement. "Listen!" I said, and they were all silent. Deylaud and Reyha just looked at each other and shrugged. Their canine hearing was acute, but not half as good as mine. I could barely hear William's voice.

"He's just beyond that pile of dirt," I whispered.

"I'm going to climb over it, come down on the other side, and try to get William out. Mel, are you ready?

"Yes. I think so."

"Get started, then."

She nodded and began giving instructions to the others on what they should do to help her. Then she held hands with Renee and they both began to chant. I climbed the small mountain that separated me from William and Reedrek.

As I got to the top and looked over, I saw William trapped under the rubble and Reedrek moving toward him fangs first.

Twenty.

William I had braced myself for the killing bite, but then dirt and rocks started falling on my head. Reedrek straightened from his crouch and looked up, just in time to be flattened by the powerful body of Jack McShane.

Jack had jumped onto Reedrek from atop the mound of dirt that covered me. My sire was an old and powerful blood drinker, but his time underground without feeding had weakened him. Still, he was able to throw Jack off and stagger to his feet. Jack charged him again, flipped him over, and pinned his arms behind his back.

Jack was reaching for the chain that had bound the steel coffin when another earthquake began. I say another earthquake because this one was almost as strong as the first tremor. I knew somehow that it was not merely an aftershock.I shut my eyes to keep out the dust and dirt. The awful roar was all I could hear. When the shaking stopped, I opened my eyes and instead of Reedrek looming before me, I saw Jack peering at me earnestly with his wide blue eyes.

"Where's Reedrek?" I asked.

"He got away. With all the dust, I didn't even see which way he ran. We'll worry about him later. Look, some of the soil and rocks have shifted off you. Let me see if I can get you out."

As Jack began to move stones and chunks of pavement off me, Deylaud joined him. "Thank the G.o.ds," he said when he saw me.

"Are Melaphia and Renee and Reyha alright?" Jack asked him.

"Yes, they're fine." Deylaud started helping Jack dig me out. He was not as strong as my offspring, but he was stronger than a human being. "They're still where you left us, just over this mound of dirt."

"Did Melaphia cause that quake just now?" I asked.

"Yes," Deylaud said. "Renee seems to be able to feel the portal and she doesn't think it's completely closed. Mel and Renee are going to try again. That's why we have to get William out right away. They're about to recast the spell and he could be buried again."

"I think I can get you, William," Jack said. He and Deylaud each grasped me under one arm and heaved. With the larger stones and chunks of asphalt gone, I felt myself coming free of the trap. The two of them helped me over and around the debris to where Melaphia, Renee, and Reyha waited. Melaphia had set out her candles and herbs.

Melaphia gasped when she saw my wound. "You need blood," she said. "Jack, you have to take him home right now to feed."

"I can feed him right here," Jack said.

"No," I said. "The sun is almost up."

"What about you and Renee?" Jack asked Melaphia. "If the portal is open..."

"My sister and I will guard them with our lives," Deylaud said. "You can have no doubt of this."

Indeed, Deylaud and Reyha were fearsome creatures in dog form, especially when provoked. They had killed at my bidding more than once, and they would not hesitate to do so again. They could rip the throat from a vampire almost as easily as Jack or I could.

"I'll sneak back through the tunnels as soon as I get you home and safe in the vault," Jack said. "I'll make sure they all get home."

"The tunnels may have caved in by then," I said. "I want us all to stay together until the portal is closed."

Renee stalked up to me, a stern look on her young face. "Uncle William, you must go. I can feel the portal in my blood. I'll know when it's closed. If me and Mama can make the ground shake one more time, it'll be over."

I began to protest, but Jack had already picked me up in his arms and was moving quickly in the direction of home. "Wait," I said.

"We should not travel through the tunnels in case of a cave-in when the next tremor starts. We have enough time to get home before sunup by the street level."

Jack nodded and carried me up to the surface, which was no more difficult than walking up on the mound of debris to the sidewalk. Melaphia and the others were in little danger of being buried as the place where they stood was open to the sky.

We surfaced behind the hospital. It was relatively quiet, but we could see a hive of activity at the end of the block near the ma.s.sive building's main entrance. Police and emergency workers were evacuating patients on stretchers and in wheelchairs. Jack, with me still in his arms, had turned toward home when he literally ran into Connie Jones. She was cordoning off the gash in the earth with a makeshift barricade, winding yellow police tape around traffic cones so no one would fall into the open pit.

"How badly are you injured, William?" she asked.

"He'll be okay as long as I get him home before daylight," Jack answered for me. "But I've got to get going. I'll talk to you later."

She nodded and turned back to her task. But she pulled up short, as did Jack and I, as we all sensed the presence of more blood drinkers.

Reedrek, flanked by Damien and Eleanor, appeared out of the darkness. I saw Jack glance surrept.i.tiously downward through the opening in the earth and back at me. They can't see Melaphia and them from here, he projected. I only hoped they wouldn't sense them.

"Nice try," Damien said. "But the portal's still open. Demons are jumping into the bodies of mortals even as we speak. Either that, or they're slithering up from h.e.l.l in their own bodies and dragging their individual curses with them."

"I suspect your witch and her whelp must be around here somewhere. Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Reedrek sang.

"Olly, olly oxen free!"

Jack set me on my feet gently. "The sun's almost up, guys. Why don't we all go to our corners and come back out fighting again tomorrow night."

"Yes," I said. "Let's table our differences until we have more time to...chat."

"What fun would that be?" Eleanor asked. "I don't want to chat. I smell fresh blood right now." She eyed my wound and licked her lips.

"I agree with Eleanor. Why wait? I believe we should press our advantage, don't you agree, Reedrek?" Damien said with a smirk.

"By all means, my boy," Reedrek said. "By all means."

Something wasn't right here. I could tell that the other vampires' bravado was false. In fact, I could smell their fear. Then I looked at Connie and I realized why.

Jack Connie appeared to be on the verge of panic. She was taking it all in, looking from one vampire to another, trying to make sense of what was going on and what she was feeling from us blood drinkers. She looked as if she couldn't interpret the vampire vibes her newly hyped-up senses were absorbing. Brand-new instincts were kicking in, and she didn't know what to do with them.

Sweat broke out on her brow despite the cold, and she shifted back and forth on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet as if she was getting ready to pounce on somebody. I just hoped it wouldn't be me or William.

"What-what's happening to me?" she asked, and a visible shiver ran from her head down to her feet.

"I'm glad you asked me that, darling," Eleanor said. Despite her snarky tone, I could tell that she was almost as nervous as Connie.

"There was one little deal the Council had to make with Satan before he would let me and the other double-deads out of the underworld."

"Unfortunately for all of us, we have to activate the Slayer," Reedrek said, not taking his eyes off Connie.

"I wish it were not so, but there it is."

"I said, What's happening to me?" Connie repeated. I looked at the woman I loved. Her eyes seemed to be changing shape. She blinked and put her fingertips to her lips. My G.o.d, she was growing fangs.

I wanted to go to her and get between her and the evil vamps, but something stopped me. An instinctive fear. A certainty that I was in the presence of a creature whose job it was to kill me.

"But she'll want to kill all of us," William said, trying to appeal to what might be left of his sire's sanity, I figured. If so, he was wasting his time.

"It can't be helped," Reedrek said philosophically.

"A deal is a deal. Damien, will you do the honors?"

From somewhere within the folds of his long leather coat, Damien produced a sword. It was the exact twin of the sword I saw in the underworld. Oh, s.h.i.t.

"That's my sword-" William began.

"Not anymore it's not," Eleanor said.

"You never knew the origin of this sword or its value," Damien said. "Your old friend Lalee could have told you, if you'd only thought to ask her while you had the opportunity. If you had, she would have told you that this is the sword that sets the Slayer on her path. This is one of only two steel blades in the universe that can kill a vampire more quickly than a wooden stake to the heart."

I wanted to know how William had come by the sword, but that question would have to wait until another time. I looked at my sire and saw that he was dumbfounded. William was almost never at a loss-or at least he never let it show if he was. But his usual command was slipping. He was weakening by the moment, and I didn't like how this confrontation was going down. I needed to think of something fast.

"The sword came into my possession by chance," William said.

"Nothing happens just by chance, William," Damien said. "I would have thought you were old enough and smart enough to have figured that out by now." Damien heaved the sword by the hilt, sending it flying end over end. I lunged, trying to grab it in flight, ready to lose a hand if I had to. I couldn't let Connie touch that sword.

I felt the sword cut into my fingers, but I couldn't catch it. I couldn't even slow it down; the thing had a mind of its own, and it was sailing right to Connie. I changed direction and headed toward her, convinced the sword was going to cut her in two.