Obtaining anyone's willing agreement had never been Julian's strong point, even when he was alive.

"So, where'd you get all your money?" Jasper asked, turning circles inside the suite while reexamining everything. "Do you have some kind of mental power that lets you find lost treasure?"

Good God.

He made Mary look like a Mensa candidate.

"No," Julian answered, using all his restraint to remain civil. "I inherited an estate and made sound investments."

"Inherited? Sure. You're lucky."

"If you are to attain full strength," Julian said, changing the subject, "you'll need to feed, and I would prefer not to travel outdoors myself any more than necessary. I want you to listen to me carefully."

He expected some questions, some argument, some form of reluctance at his mention of feeding, but Jasper just turned and looked at him with glowing eyes. Maybe the change had finished quickly? Jasper appeared to have lost any lingering remnants of mortal ethics.

Julian was about to begin explaining the best methods for drawing someone off alone into the darkness when the air in the room shimmered and Mary appeared, looking even more dramatic than usual.

"They're going to leave!" she shouted. "Tonight!"

Julian didn't even tell her to calm down. "What?"

"Yeah, I couldn't stay long… There's something in that apartment that keeps trying to find me. But I was alone in the sitting room for a few seconds, and I heard Eleisha and Wade talking about a train leaving at midnight from Jack London Square! They're going home to Portland."

Julian put his fist back to his mouth again, but this time he was simply thinking. They were leaving sooner than he expected.

He did not wish to destroy Eleisha yet-and possibly not for some time-if she was going to continue seeking other elders who might be in hiding. He needed her to find them, and he wanted her to view the church in Portland as safe so that she would remain there and he could keep track of her. She was weak of character and did not like being alone. He believed that no matter who he killed, she would keep on looking, keep on trying.

So he had to destroy Robert before they left San Francisco, and he couldn't risk this if Robert was traveling with three other vampires-and a mortal who Mary swore was a telepath.

Julian had to thin the group. But how?

He forced himself to calm, to think.

He couldn't expose himself yet, and his only possible tools were Mary and a newborn vampire.

Jasper could hardly stand up to Robert or Philip.

But would he need to?

From what Angelo had told him long ago, Julian understood that although the newly turned were not immune to each other's gifts, even a young untrained vampire could defend against a straight telepathic attack, to a degree, by putting up a mental block. Julian was the only exception to this, as he had no psychic defense at all.

He turned to Jasper. "Your test has come earlier than expected. I have enemies trying to leave the city… as Mary has just told us. I need you to keep them from leaving. Mary will guide and assist you."

"I will?" Mary asked uncertainly. "How can I help him?"

"You can show yourself if need be," he answered. "I want them to feel pressure now, to feel that they are attacked from several sides. I just don't wish them to know I am involved."

"So, I can, like… pop out and scare them if I need to?"

"Yes."

She smiled. "Okay."

"How will I know who they are?" Jasper asked, looking more uncertain, even nervous.

Forgetting Mary and turning his attention back to Jasper, Julian described all five members of the group, starting with Eleisha and finishing with Rose. He did not know if Rose and Philip were becoming telepathic, but he was harsh in his warnings about Eleisha and Robert-and he mentioned Mary's questionable assertions about Wade.

"If need be, you can use your own mind to try to push them out," he said. "But your goal is to avoid that need."

"How?"

"By keeping to the shadows, staying out of sight until the last second."

Julian did not bother to add that this strategy had always worked for him in the past because his undead condition combined with his complete lack of telepathic power made him invisible to others of his kind until they actually saw him. Otherwise, he was a black, empty hole in the night, and they could not sense his presence at all.

Jasper might not have this advantage.

"Once you find them," Julian went on, "Mary will work to break them up. You must stay near them but out of sight until you have a close proximity to one or two. Don't try to attack more than two, and don't strike until you know you can take one of their heads instantly. This will incapacitate the other one and give you time to take the second one's head."

He also didn't mention that it was possible the psychic release from the first one could incapacitate Jasper as well… but he was new and may not be as heavily affected.

"Take their heads?" Jasper asked.

Julian tried not to grimace, having forgotten to whom he was speaking. "Yes." He lifted his sheathed sword from where it lay on the mantel. It troubled him to send Jasper off with a two-hundred-year-old sword, but there wasn't time to get another one.

"Come here and watch me," Julian said, pulling out the blade.

He showed Jasper how to properly grip the hilt and position himself for a hard strike. Then Jasper practiced the act himself. Surprisingly, he took to the sword quickly, swinging it with decent balance and speed.

"Good," Julian said with a nod. "Just aim for the throat. You'll notice your hand-to-eye coordination is much sharper now, and you are stronger." He moved closer to Jasper, reaching out to grip the hilt. "But no matter what you do, do not attack Eleisha."

"That blond girl you talked about first?"

Julian allowed a small wave of fear to seep out, enjoying the satisfaction of watching Jasper's face turn paler.

"Yes. If you kill her, I'll tear your head off myself. Do you understand?"

He let more fear seep out.

Jasper's hands began to shake. "Yeah, I got it."

"Also," Julian added, running possible outcomes through his mind, "you would do best to avoid Robert if possible. He's the strongest, and you should leave him to me. But you can target the others, and I want at least two of them dead." He cut off the flow of fear and tried to make his voice sound comforting-not an easy feat. "If you succeed, and you keep them from leaving, I'll make certain you have everything you could want: clothes, cars, rooms like this one, anything."

Jasper's eyes glowed again. "Where do I start?"

Julian weighed possible options. Jasper would have to try to catch them in the open, so that Mary could help split them up.

"Go to the Amtrak station. Wait for Mary to help you track them, and when they arrive, make sure you cut them off." He paused. "But you'll need to be at full strength, so you should feed first."

"How do I do that? I mean… is there anything I need to know?"

Once again, if it were possible, Julian would have smiled. Perhaps he had done well turning Jasper.

"A few things," Julian said, and he began to explain the best tactics for hunting.

Jasper walked out onto Mason Street wearing Julian's long coat with the sword hidden underneath and five hundred dollars in his pocket-just like something out of a movie.

He almost couldn't believe what happened to him. Maybe those years of bad luck had been his just due while his life built up toward this moment, this night. In all his fantasies, he could never have imagined this.

He was immortal. He was unstoppable. He was rich.

And this was so much better than what he'd seen in vampire movies. He felt like something right out of Highlander, walking down the street with a sword hidden under his coat.