“All right,” she continued in a huff. “First Communion is the first time a new vampire feeds. For my kind, it’s a big deal. There’s no real ceremony, but if the sire and new night walker are hunting in another nightwalker’s territory, it is customary for the keeper to be present at the First Communion.”

“Why?”

“To begin the process of indoctrination into our culture. There is a lot a fledgling must learn if he or she is to survive. The new nightwalker must learn the full meaning of words like ‘master’ and ‘slave.’”

Something cold and dead crawled into her voice. There were times when something dark uncoiled in Mira when she spoke of her kind. While she was a staunch defender of vampires against the naturi, there were moments that I don’t think she really liked some of the aspects of her culture. And I think it was all from some dark corner of her past. I knew nothing of the years spent with her maker beyond the fact that Mira’s hatred for Sadira was second only to her hatred of the naturi.

“Will other vampires be there?” I asked.

“I imagine it will be quite crowded. It has been a long time since we last had a First Communion and things have been dark since Machu Picchu. Besides, I have been somewhat inaccessible—when it spreads that I will be present, more will come.”

“And you think it wise for me to be there? A vampire hunter? I hope you don’t think to pass me off as a pet.”

Mira laughed and there was something unexpectedly friendly in the sound. There was nothing in it to seduce or coerce like so many of her subtle little tricks. It was just the sound of pure amusement.

“You would never be considerate enough to play the part,” she chuckled, a soft smile lifting her full lips. “No, it’s not wise for you to be there, but when have I ever been wise where you are concerned?”

“True,” I conceded, fighting back a grin. Her good mood was almost infectious in the few moments that it blossomed into life.

“No one will attack as long as you don’t attack them. However,” she said, her smile slipping a notch, “the others will be feeding while we are there. Many of the nightwalkers will bring humans to feed from. All of these humans will be there willingly.”

I snorted in disbelief and opened my mouth to comment, but Mira continued before I could speak. “First Communion is one of our most important rites of passage. For some, it’s even an intimate moment. If a nightwalker brings a human, it won’t be some random victim off the street. The human and nightwalker will have had a history; a relationship together for a length of time. No human will be harmed tonight…unless you start something.”

It suddenly dawned on me that Mira’s concern was not the nightwalkers’ reaction to my appearance tonight. She was more concerned with me doing something that would embarrass her or endanger her kind. It was also strange that she was taking me to this ceremony when it was obviously very important to her kind. Now that I knew what was going on, I had no problem with Mira dropping me off to wait for her. Yet, now it seemed like she actually wanted me there and I couldn’t even begin to guess as to why.

We slipped into a pregnant silence as Mira turned the car off the expressway, winding it along one of the exit ramps. We had entered a small suburb of Savannah, with its old houses and quaint shops. We were less than ten minutes from downtown. If we were lucky, the ceremony would go quickly and we could be downtown before 10 P.M. How long would it take for a fledgling to feed, for Mira to speak to her people, and then be gone? I couldn’t imagine she would want to linger with me hanging on their every word.

As we headed deeper into the quiet neighborhoods with their barren flower beds and darkened windows, I could feel the vampires ahead of us. At first it was just a handful and then their numbers climbed. By the time we parked in the cracked and crumbling driveway of a two-story house with the peeling white paint, I could sense more than thirty vampires waiting inside. At a guess, I’d say that it was every vampire within a fifty-mile radius; maybe even farther. Savannah hadn’t had thirty vampires even before I started cutting into their numbers months ago.

I looked over at Mira as she turned off the car. Even in the darkness, I could see her frown and furrowed brow. “Are you sure about this?” I asked, hesitant to even unbuckle my seat belt. I had never battled this many vampires at once, not even when we faced the coven.

“It’s more than I expected, but everything will be fine,” she said, pulling the key from the ignition. Mira opened her door and gracefully slid out. I followed behind her, distinctly lacking her confidence. Of course, Mira had walked into the coven’s Main Hall with her head held high and oozing self-confidence. That was just her style.

As she shut her door, I saw her snap back around as something caught her attention at the last second. She lunged a couple of steps forward then stopped, her fists balled at her side. Her powers exploded from her body, nearly knocking me back a step. I grabbed my knife from its sheath at my side and stood beside her, stretching out my powers as well. I scanned the area, but I felt nothing but the vampires in the house behind us.

“What—?”

“Naturi. Do you sense any naturi?” she rasped in a low voice. Her whole body hummed with energy, ready to lash out.

“No. None anywhere near here.” It had become second nature at this point to search for them. The naturi seemed to be constantly at our heels, lurking around every corner. I’ve learned to search for them at every opportunity if I want to have any hope of staying alive much longer.

Mira stood in the middle of the empty street, her hands extended out from her body, bathed in blue flames. Confusion and rage rolled off her in equal parts, hitting me in the chest as I took a couple steps closer to her. My gaze swung from one end of the street to the other, praying that no one chose that moment to look out their window. Mira had always been very careful to be discreet about the use of her powers, doing nothing that would threaten the exposure of her world. Yet, I could feel the fear driving her to this desperate act. If anything moved at that moment, it was going to be burned to a crisp.

“Mira, you’re drawing attention to us,” I hissed. “Put the fire out.”

“Are you sure?” she snapped, still not looking over at me as she ignored my warning.

“Yes.”

“I want to search.” She extended her hand toward me, her wide eyes still sweeping the empty streets. All the windows were darkened and doors shut. All the humans seemed to be settling in for the night, plopped down in front of the TVs, or snuggled in their beds. I could sense one man shuffling through the hall four houses down from us. Beyond that, there were only the vampires.

“Mira…”

“Please, Danaus,” she said, jerking her head around to look up at me. “I have to be sure. Just like in Venice.” It was the urgency in her voice that finally convinced me to wrap my fingers around her slender white hand. In Venice, we had bonded our powers so that she could search the home of the coven for a naturi; without my help, Mira could not sense the naturi. A web of vampire spells had blocked my senses, but Mira could peer through them. In Venice, she had been right, so I was reluctant to second-guess her instincts now.

With her small, slightly chilled hand lost in my larger one, I drew in a deep breath, shoving it down to the soles of my feet. As I released it, I slowly pushed the energy perpetually balled in my chest through my arm and into Mira. Her hand jerked in my grasp as the power hit her and I could hear a small whimper escape her before she could stop it. At the same time, the wall that hid her thoughts and emotions from the world came crashing down. I sucked in a ragged, harsh breath, fighting for balance in the raging sea of her thoughts. Mira was confused and angry at what she saw, but somehow she managed to keep that thought hidden from me. I didn’t fight for it when I tasted the slight tang of fear that lingered about the memory.