“Too much,” she rasped, drawing my attention back to the task at hand. I turned my thoughts inward, focusing on the flow of energy I was directing into her. It was hard to control the flow. A deeper feeling of warmth filled my limbs and only intensified when I sent more power into her. There was also a sense of completion and peace that teased at the periphery of my senses, making me believe if I just let loose, the wonderful sensation would flood my brain and soul, finally making me feel whole.

Yet for all the peace and fulfillment I felt, Mira experienced equal parts pain. I could barely sense that gut-twisting agony, but I didn’t need to. It was also written all over her trembling limbs and drawn expression. While this technique of combining powers was effective in killing opponents, I had a feeling that if I let loose, it would rip Mira in half. Particularly if she decided to fight me.

With the connection created and my thoughts firmly entrenched in Mira’s mind, I reached out again. We scanned the area slowly, at first just a couple blocks, and then miles in all directions. There were no naturi in the region.

“Enough,” I said gruffly, pulling my hand free of Mira’s. She stumbled a step forward but managed to catch herself before she fell to her knees. I reached for her arm to steady her, but then stopped myself. The connection was too fresh and I could feel the pain throbbing through Mira’s trembling body.

The nightwalker straightened and shook her head as if to clear it. She was still frowning as her eyes swept the street one last time. “No one,” she whispered, sounding confounded by the fact.

“What did you see?”

“I thought…I thought I saw a naturi,” she said, struggling to say the word as if it would summon one by magic.

“Rowe?” I demanded, forcing the name past an unexpected knot in my throat. That one-eyed naturi had been the only one I had ever seen with the ability to pop in and out with magic. He had also tried to grab Mira on two separate occasions: once in Egypt and a second time in London. I had little doubt that the naturi was still alive somewhere and plotting ways to get his hands on Mira.

“No, not him,” Mira said. Her voice was rough and uneven as she looked up and down the street. Her fingers flexed at her sides as if she were aching to once again light a fire to protect herself.

“Should we continue? If we’re being watched, it might not be a wise idea to have everyone gathered in one place.” A fight between vampires and the naturi in the middle of the night in a quiet suburb would not be a good thing. It would be splashed across every newspaper and news agency for days. It would also endanger the humans sleeping peacefully in their beds around us.

Mira shook her head and straightened her shoulders. “No, we continue.” Her tone was strong and firm again despite the fear I could still feel hanging in the air around her. With her head up, Mira turned on her heel to walk up toward the house. “It was nothing. A trick of the light and shadow.”

Her explanation sent a chill down my spine. A nightwalker’s eyesight was better than any nocturnal creature’s regardless of his or her age. I was reluctant to dismiss Mira’s partial glimpse, but there was nothing we could sense in the area. For now, a house full of vampires eagerly awaited our arrival.

The warped wooden boards creaked and groaned as we stepped onto the sagging porch. The sound echoed through the desolate neighborhood and a small woman with dark hair pulled open the door and quickly stepped aside to let Mira enter. She kept her head bowed when she saw the nightwalker and her smile was timid. Yet when her large, brown eyes fell on me, a soft hiss erupted from her throat and she leaped several feet backward. A flurry of Spanish escaped her, but I was unable to catch it all. It didn’t matter what the words were, I understood the sentiment and there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes.

“He is my guest, Rosa,” Mira proclaimed, her gaze never wavering from the terrified vampire’s round face. However, her voice was loud enough to carry to everyone on the first floor. It was a general announcement to all those assembled.

“But…he is…the…the hunter,” Rosa stammered, her mind struggling to wrap itself around the implications. Of course, so was mine. It was going to be an awkward night.

“He is my guest,” Mira repeated. Her voice had hardened to the same steely consistency as her will. She was giving them an unspoken choice; accept my presence or face her.

“Of course, Keeper,” Rosa said, bowing her head again. She pushed away from the wall she had pressed herself into to escape me and ushered us through the dimly lit narrow hall to the living room.

It was a small room made even smaller by the dozen vampires and their human companions strewn about the room like so much gothic decoration. It was a motley assembly ranging from the traditional Hollywood garb of black leather, dark makeup, and silver chains to the ultra-sophisticated in Armani, Valentino, and Dolce and Gabbana. These midnight predators were draped over the worn and faded furniture like pretty decoration. Some barely moved when we entered the room, nothing more than a quick flick of the eyes, while others shifted away from me.

Knox stood in the far corner with his arms folded over his chest. Mira’s second-in-command gave me a brief nod, which was more than I had actually expected. The blond nightwalker named Amanda stood near him, her hands shoved in the front pockets of her jeans as she stood staring at the floor, avoiding my gaze. But then, most of the nightwalkers in the room refused to meet my eyes.

Mira barely looked at any of them, keeping her attention on the vampire who had opened the door. “Are we ready to begin?” she demanded.

“Yes, whenever you are ready,” Rosa replied, wringing her hands.

“Then let’s begin. I have other business tonight,” Mira said. Around us, vampires rose to their feet like marionettes being pulled up by their strings. I barely managed to stop myself from pulling my knife at my side at the nightmarish sight. If I ever slept again, I knew this scene would be replaying for years to come in my mind. A few swept by us and back into the hall, but they never looked at me. For many, humans walked at their side, so silent one would think we were entering a cathedral for Mass.

Mira placed her hand in the crook of my left arm, drawing my eyes to her upturned face. It was only when she touched me that I realized that my heart was pounding and every muscle was tensed. The lavender-eyed nightwalker winked at me, one corner of her mouth quirked in a half smile as she guided me back to the hall. While she was teasing, I could still sense the underlying thread of worry running through her mind.

In the hall, we abruptly turned and marched single file down a set of wooden stairs into the basement. As Mira preceded me, she removed her hand from my arm, and placed my left hand on her slim shoulder. I didn’t question this sudden need for physical contact. At the moment, I was in their world and would have to play by their rules. In the brief second that she touched my hand, she also took the opportunity to touch my mind.

Relax, she whispered in my thoughts. For once, I didn’t mind the invasion. I needed the reassurance that we had not walked into a trap.

The basement was large and open with only an old cast-iron furnace resting in the far corner. A pair of bare light-bulbs dangled from the low ceiling, vainly attempting to push back the darkness. Vampires and their human companions alike stood and sat along the walls. They were all silent, but I could feel the faint pressure of the mental conversation among the vampires in my brain. These deadly creatures were completely still, standing like carefully arranged mannequins in the attempt to simulate life, but the air tingled with a strange mix of hunger and excitement.