Rachel Caine & Kristin Cast & Claudia Gray & Nancy Holder & Tanith Lee & Richelle Mead & Cynthia Leitich Smith & P. C. Cast by Immortal_Love Stories, a Bite Page B

and past a very familiar SUV. “Hey!” He spun around and motioned for me to be quiet.
    I lowered my voice, and spoke urgently. “But this is Paul’s nerdy old Isuzu. He’s dating my mom. Look, it has to be his SUV.” I pointed at the window. “He has like fifty tacky evergreen air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror because he smokes in his car and doesn’t want my mom to notice.” Obviously Alek didn’t care, because he kept walking until he reached the side door and I had to scramble again to keep up.
    â€œWe’re going in.”
    â€œWhat? Hell no! Didn’t you just hear me? This is Paul’s house and there’s no way I’m going in there. Your monster radar is all wrong. Besides, he’s on a date with my mom, and look, the lights aren’t even on. They’re probably not here, or
worse. Ew. They might be—” Alek pressed one hand over my mouth and used the other to guide mine to the door.
    â€œCan you feel that?” His hand lingered on mine and I wanted him to hold me like he had earlier.
    Suddenly, the cold sluggishness of fear crept through the door and made ribbons up my arm. I tried to pull away, but Alek wouldn’t let me. Rage and disgust followed. Their hot nails tore at my flesh, though the only marks they left were in my mind—on my soul. Alek let loose my hand and repeated, “We’re going in there. Remember, trust me. I’m your protector.”
    As soon as he finished his sentence we were on the other side of the door. I really wish he would warn me before he popped us places. Alek nudged me toward the stairs and back into the reality I was trying unsuccessfully to escape. Like ghosts, we slid noiselessly up to the second floor. With each step the suffocating stench of smoky fear grew stronger. I wanted to vomit. At the top of the steps Alek took the lead. I let out a tiny sigh. Okay, right. He was my protector. Besides his superpower of zapping us places and kissing me into being a weird kind of vampire, he also must be super strong (as well as super hot). With him in front he could beat up any ancient boogey monster things lurking in the dark.
    We walked into a room absent of all furniture except a metal table, the kind that morticians put dead bodies on. The cold room stank of bleach and blood, and the mixture became red and white ribbons of smoke that bit at my eyes. I scanned the room, amazed at how easily I could see through the smoke and shadows.

    It was in one of those shadows that I saw her curly brown hair. I tore out from behind my protector and flew to her side. “Mom?!” The silence burned my ears. “Mom! Mom!” The soft vanilla I’d seen surrounding her earlier barely lingered within the rust-colored tendrils of hopeless-ness and panic, blinding me with fear. Tears washed my face, and my throat was hard and dry. “Alek, she’s not moving. And I don’t know what’s wrong!” He was immediately at my side. I scrubbed at my eyes, wiping away tears and blinking through the otherworldly mists. He picked up my mother’s limp body. She looked so unnaturally still and helpless it made my stomach roll. Mom was never helpless! She couldn’t be!
    â€œShe’s breathing. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Alek began to reassure me, but like a bad horror movie, that was exactly when the predator entered.
    â€œOh, look. It’s a party. Jenna, you didn’t tell me you wanted to watch. That could have been arranged. I like an audience.”
    The man approaching me looked like the Paul I knew only briefly. Then my eyes grew hot and his body wavered, like heat rising from a hot summer road, and his true form was revealed to me. The smoke that swirled in and out of his body was terrible. It made his evil naked, and bared, he was fully exposed to me. I saw the sick creature he truly was. The souls of the people he had murdered shrieked purple