She drew out her water pistols and began to shoot.

She turned to her rear, desperate to rid herself of the creature breathing down her back. He was close, and she aimed straight into his eyes. She smelled burning flesh.

He screamed, and as he sizzled and burned, he tried to change back into shadow. He morphed...there, not there. She saw a patch of skull. She saw wings.

She fired again, and he collapsed at her feet.

She stomped on him, and he exploded into dust and soot. An old vampire, she thought. Very old.

Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

The others moved on her then, and she began to spin, her water pistols working. She tried, in the midst of her terror, to remember to aim. She couldn't waste her holy water; she had no idea how long her "ammunition" would last.

All around her, the night seemed to explode with cries of pain and shouts of fury. The cacaphony rose to a crescendo; there was fire, mist...explosions of unnamable filth all around her.

And then there was a roar of fury. "Enough!"

It was Stephan.

"We can't take her while she's shooting," one of his minions said. She couldn't tell where the sound had come from and tried to find the speaker, longing to see him die.

But Stephan roared out a command again. "Enough!"

There was stillness all around her.

Shadows formed shapes again. Only five who remained standing, and they lined up at Stephan's side.

"She will drop her weapons," Stephan said.

"Why would I do that?" she demanded. He smiled. "Because if you do not, your friends will die. I will kill them slowly, one at a time. The little blonde first, then the dark beauty. You will watch them suffer, and I promise, you will hear them scream and curse you as they die."

She froze, swallowing.

"Drop your weapons, my dear," Stephan said pleasantly. Then he snapped out a single word in a terrible fury.

"Now!"

Time.

Time was of the essence, Mark knew.

Stephan had been toying with them all along. He hadn't cared how many he sacrificed on the way to his ultimate showdown.

Mark even knew that Stephan had planned for him to discover his lair at last. Planned for him to feel desperate.

Planned for him to come alone.

But there was no help for it.

He slipped from the ambulance and disappeared into the crowd.

He could see Canady standing in the center of the storm, fielding questions, commanding men, and he dialed the lieutenant's cell number.

"Canady speaking"

"It's Mark."

"Where the h.e.l.l are you?"

Mark didn't answer. Instead he gave Sean an address and said he was on his way.

"No! That's what he wants you to do."

"I know. But it's also what I have to do," Mark said, then hung up before Sean could voice a further protest. Then he punched in a number for Montresse House, pa.s.sed on the information he had received from Susan, then said, "Tell Jonas. He can get there faster."

Then he hung up-and moved.

As Lauren stared at Stephan, the front door of the house opened and she was stunned to see Heidi and Deanna walk calmly down the steps to flank.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Stephan suggested.

"What are you two doing here?" Lauren asked her friends, ignoring Stephan's words.

Neither one appeared to even hear her.Stephan smiled knowingly at Lauren. "Actually, they're both rather happy to be with me. They're both so lovely...." He ran his fingers down the sculpted angle of Deanna's cheek. "She really is a beauty. And, I'm sure, very talented. And this little one...I love a pale blonde."

"If I drop my weapons," Lauren said, "we'll all be in your power."

"A cab brought you out here, and a cab can take them back," Stephan said, as pleasantly and easily as if they were eager to leave a party early.

She held on to her weapons and saw a flash of anger cross Stephan's face.

"I want guarantees."

"You don't have the right to ask for anything," he told her coldly.

"You have to let them go. Both of them."

They were at an impa.s.se, staring at one another. She thought she could use every last drop of water she had on Stephan. But would it be enough?

Five of his followers were still "alive." And Stephan himself was so strong, capable of healing himself of wounds that would kill a lesser...creature..

Even as the thought pa.s.sed through Lauren's mind, Deanna silently took up a position in front of Stephan, and Lauren realized that the friend she was trying to save was willing to protect him with her own life.

"Shall we go inside?" Stephan asked.

"No, not until I see the two of them safely away from you."

Stephan shrugged. "You have a phone. Call a cab. Go ahead."

She hesitated, then carefully kept the one pistol in her hand as she stuffed the other into her waistband and fumbled for her phone.

Stephan simply stared at her, politely smiling, as she ordered the cab and hung up.

His smile deepened. "You've been so hard to find, Lauren. Somehow I knew, though, that you were out there somewhere. I must have sensed you would be here when I came to New Orleans. And then I saw you, through that crystal ball, and I have been patiently waiting for you, aching for you, ever since."

"Patiently waiting?" she said. "Interesting. As far as I can tell, you've been running all over town seducing women."

"Only to get your attention," he told her.

"You have my attention. What you don't have is my trust."

"You called for a cab yourself," he reminded her. "Who knows? Maybe the fellow who dropped you off will just turn around and come back."

"Maybe he'll report this place to the police."

"I rather hope not. It's tricky when you kill an entire police force," he said conversationally.

"You know that the police here know exactly who and what you are," she told him.

"You're stalling for time," he said softly. "You're waiting for Mark to come to your rescue, like a hero of old, riding up on a white charger. But surely you know the truth by now. I have been maligned. He is the liar, the evil one."

"Somehow, I just don't believe that."

He shrugged. "You will."

To Lauren's surprise, she was startled by the sudden glow of headlights. She turned around, shielding her eyes.

The taxi had arrived.

Stephan lifted his arms. Like zombies, Deanna and Heidi walked toward the car. Lauren stared at Stephan with mistrust.

"Speak to the driver yourself, my dear. But you will hand me that water gun, and then you and I will walk inside together. If not, the cab-and your friends-will not be allowed to leave."

Her fingers itched, but she didn't dare pull the trigger. Five of his goons were still grouped around him. She knew that none of them would think a thing of killing the driver and the girls.

She walked with Stephan over to the cab. "The ladies need to get back to Bourbon Street," Stephan said pleasantly, producing a large bill. "Get them there safely, please."

He made sure that the back door was properly closed, then patted the top of the cab. It drove off.

Lauren felt the gun twisted from her hand.

"Let's go in."

She still had the cross around her neck, she reminded herself.

And the toothpicks.

She was in the monster's lair, and all she had were toothpicks.

Mark arrived just in time to see the two girls get into the cab, then watch Stephan put his arm around Lauren and lead her toward the house.

He held still, desperate to control himself; if he wanted to save her, he couldn't behave rashly. That was what Stephan was counting on. If he played his hand too quickly, he would lose.

He had to be careful not to betray himself; he didn't want Stephan's goons knowing he was there. He had to get into the house.

As he waited, he got a look at the taxi driver and cursed silently.

The driver wasn't really a man at all. Not in the customary sense of the word. Lauren had just sacrificed herself so that Heidi and Deanna could become a gourmet meal....

He cursed fate, but just as Stephan knew him, he knew Stephan. Mark waited.

Then he went after the cab.

She still had the cross, Lauren thought, but she didn't dare touch it; she didn't want Stephan to remember that she was wearing it around her neck. She prayed that when the ambulance had reached Susan, the woman had managed to speak and tell someone where Lauren had gone.

"Come in, come in," Stephan said welcomingly, as if she had finally agreed to a date, and he meant to do his charming best to seduce her.

She entered the house. The glow inside came from candles set in holders on the floor. There was nothing else, not a stick of furniture, in sight.

But there were more shadows. The sound of whispering. The flutter of wings.

Suddenly the ceiling came alive. With a sinking heart, Lauren realized that at least twenty or thirty more vampires were hiding in the dark confines of the house.

"The bas.e.m.e.nt is my real domain," he told her. "I think you'll find it quite inviting."

"Really? I find a beach in bright sunlight inviting, actually," she told him.

He smiled at that. "You'll see."

He waved his hand, and the empty room seemed to come to life as shadows dropped to the floor and fluttering wings became feet against hard wood.

"Go," Stephan said.

And they all began to move, taking up defensive positions outside.

"Downstairs," Stephan invited her, opening a door. There was light coming from the bas.e.m.e.nt-more candles, she thought.

She walked down the stairs. She would be alone with him down there, she thought. Maybe the chance to kill him would somehow arise.

And maybe he would cease teasing and playing; maybe his fangs would sink into her throat at any second.