“Yes, that was impressive,” Klaus said. “Are you an ancient?”

“I’ve got a couple millennia. You.” He snapped his fingers at another police officer. “We need to get to One Times Square. Take us. On a route with no people.”

The officer cut his way past the pens of dancing, shouting, laughing people. Nikos clutched my hand harder.

Partially to distract him from the crowd, partially because I was curious, I asked, “Can all v-guys influence people that easily?”

“More or less.”

“So if Aylmer ’s accomplice was a v-guy, he wouldn’t have needed my help-he could have hypnotized his way into the Magie company. Does that prove he’s human?”

“Perhaps. Unless Magie is run by my kind.”

“Oh.” I really hoped not.

Even with the police escort it was eleven forty-two by the time we jogged up to a long narrow building. One Times Square, with its façade of full-color ads and news zippers, was as well-known as any Hollywood star’s face. The Grande Dame of New Year’s, where even the police outpost sported a pink and blue neon sign. The officer got us inside through Walgreens’ retail space.

Only three stories were occupied. The next twenty-two floors were untenanted. The officer told us this at Nikos’s prompting. Ever the general, Nikos wanted to know the lay of the land, but I found the info interesting for its own sake.

Or I would have if it weren’t eleven forty-three p.m. and counting. We took the elevator to the twenty-third floor then hiked up the remaining two flights. Paradoxically Nikos relaxed as we mounted the final stairs.

I shook my head. “A whole building just for billboards?”

“It avoids the hassle of being a landlord, does it not?” Klaus shrugged. “Besides, most of the windows are covered by the spectaculars, scrims and signs. Unusable as office space.”

The door to the roof was locked. The officer used his key, but the door didn’t budge. He frowned. “This isn’t good. I’d better call for backup.” His hand went to his radio. Before he could connect Klaus sank white fangs into his neck.

The officer’s face scrunched in extreme agony-or pleasure. His eyes rolled up into his head and he dropped limp to the floor.

“What the hell did you do that for?” I checked the officer’s pulse, good, and his neck, perfectly intact.

Klaus shrugged. “The door is blocked. Something is on the roof, something unexpected. It’s better if we don’t have an audience.” He pointed at the door, grinned at Nikos. “I don’t mist. Would you do the honors?”

“Fledgling.” Nikos dropped into smoke and shot through the door. Moments later it was open. Klaus sauntered through. I peered out more cautiously after him.

The roof was typical Manhattan -cooling tower, pipes and metal grates. It was empty except for two men. One wore a funky Giants hat and was bundled in a coat. His eyes were panicky and his arms were behind his back. Above him, the huge New Year’s Ball blazed, its reds and golds and greens cascading merrily across the white template of his face.

The other man was gray-haired and thin as a rail. He held a gun trained on the panicked man.

Passing the gray-haired man on the streets, I wouldn’t have looked twice, might not have seen him at all. He was that ordinary. No, even Walmart has some style. This man was flat, washed out.

Except for his eyes. He was endlessly surveying the rooftop, as if it were about to erupt hordes of enemies. His eyes twitched continuously, like acid burned them. Twitch, twitch, twitch. Or like he was sick. Or maybe the brain that the eyes were attached to was sick. That possibility was downright scary.

As I edged out onto the roof the gray-haired man saw us. The gun snapped into both hands-aimed at me.

Handguns are hair-raising enough-packaged death. Having one pointed at me? My vision darkened, the metal barrel unnervingly bright in contrast. I couldn’t hear beyond the whoosh of my heart. My whole being jumped to the nozzle of that gun. I’m going to die. Now.

Nikos stepped in front of me and just that suddenly the threat was gone.

I heard the man spit. “Damn.” His voice was hoarse, like a lifelong smoker. “I needed Aylmer to get me into the Magie, but I should have killed him. Now I’ll have to kill you.”

I peeked around Nikos. The thin man’s features were red and scarred, less than perfect. Even if I hadn’t suspected it, that would have told me he wasn’t a vampire. I didn’t recognize him, despite him obviously recognizing us.

“Mr. Jones, wait.” Nikos’s hands were up, peaceful, but his stance spoke volumes of readiness. I wondered how he knew the man’s name. “Why are you doing this?”

The man laughed, high-pitched. “Why kill thousands of people? Why destroy hundreds of monsters?”

“No, Mr. Jones. Why destroy the fragile peace vampires and humans have?”

“Peace.” The gun shook. “I fought for peace, once.”

“You were in Vietnam.” Nikos nodded. “It was horrible.”

“Horrible? Horrible? You punks are all alike. Think you know what it was like when you don’t! It wasn’t M*A*S*H. Nam was brutal. Savage.”

“Actually, I do know.” Nikos shot Klaus a glance. Klaus gave an imperceptible nod, started edging toward the man while Nikos continued. “I know they sent us home in airplanes, so we couldn’t process what we saw, what we did. No time to talk about it before we were dumped back into ‘normal’ society.”

The man squinted at Nikos. Took an unwilling step forward. “You’re too young…unless-”

Nikos nodded. “Yes, Mr. Jones. I’m a vampire. And yes, I was there.” His voice softened, became beguiling. It was a tone I hadn’t heard before, a poet’s croon. “They sent us back from the lush jungles that smelled of rampant growth and death and dropped us into concrete warrens with people who hadn’t been there, couldn’t understand.”

“I had it worse.” Jones took another step forward. “I was a spy. Secret even from my own unit. Suicide-pill secret. I barely made it out alive.”

“And I was a POW. It warped us, all of us, made us angry and afraid. And we had to deal with it, not them. But this isn’t the way.”

The man jerked straight. Blinked. Shouted, “Your vampire tricks don’t work on me.” He pulled the trigger.

Klaus leaped. I thought maybe he’d get there before-but he was too far away.

The man shot, bang-bang, bang-bang.

Klaus’s chest and forehead bloomed red. Nikos was in front of me so I couldn’t see what happened to him. But he was a huge target.

Nikos jerked, went down on one knee.

I screamed. Klaus was out, Nikos was down. Jones stalked closer, gun pointed at Nikos-to finish him. I couldn’t let that happen.

I skirted around Nikos’s big fallen body and ran at that madman like a banshee, Burgundy Blast nails clawing.

Jones’s eyes widened, seeing me rush him like a lunatic. And maybe I was, to charge an armed man. And maybe I wasn’t, because his gun shook.

I barreled toward him, death in my eyes.

Nikos caught me from behind. “Twyla. Let me.”

“What the-? Lie down, you! You’re injured. I’ll kill the bastard and then we’ll get you to a hospital and-”

I was flat on the rooftop without knowing how I got there. A sharp report split the air right above my head. Nikos lay atop me, body shielding mine. Damned fucking hero.

I pushed him off. “That nutjob shot at me.”

“I know. Just a minute.” Nikos exploded into smoke, whipped around the gray-haired man, reformed behind him.

Jones spun, too late. Nikos slammed a fist into the man’s jaw, seized Jones’s gun from his loosened grasp. Lights from the Ball played over them both, colors flashing like a strobe. Jones grabbed at his belt for another gun. Nikos threw the first clattering onto the grating, snared Jones’s wrists in one big hand and yanked him tight into his body.

Then Nikos grabbed the man by the throat and bit him.