Page 3 (1/2)

CHAPTER ONE

CLAIRE

It would have been better if he'd screamed

Michael Glass didn't screa noise in the back of his throat, arched his back, and began to flail violently inside his zipped-up sleeping bag Fabric shredded under vaed out of the tears as he fought his way free, but even once the weight was off hi

Across the rooht to her feet, tripped over her own sleeping bag, and ainst a wall just before she hit the floor face-first Her heart was slaainst her ribs, and she had the sour, helpless taste of panic in her mouth

They're here was the only coherent thought in her head She had to be ready to fight, to run, to react, but all she could think of was how utterly scared she was just now And how helpless

There were things out there in the world, things that vas were here She was only seconds out of a very light, fitful sleep, but she knew that the nightht into the real world The draug They weren't vah water, fored vampires down to a slow and awful death

A week ago, she'd have laughed so like that off as a bad joke, but then she'd seen theanville, Texas Come with the rains that rarely fell in this desert-locked, sunbaked tohere the vampires had, finally, made their last stand

Today she woke up with the blind and panicked knowledge that no matter how bad the world ith va was vastly worse They'd coanville, infiltrated stealthily, built their nu their awful song that somehow, impossibly, was also beautiful and irresistible To humans as well as to vamps

The strongest of Morganville's vaainst it, and scored a few hitsbut not without cost Amelie, the ice-queen ruler of the town, had been bitten; without her, it was all going to get worse, fast

Michael was still thrashing and radually that instead of cowering here while her brain caught up, she should go to him Help him

And then the lights brightened fro carpeted roo in the doorway, looking first at her, then over at Michael, as still desperately struggling againstnothing

Against his nightmare

Claire pulled in a deep breath, shut her eyes for a second, then n to Shane; he nodded back and went to their friend's side Michael was tangled up in the shredded re and, as far as Claire could tell, still dead asleep Shane crouched down and, after a brief hesitation, reached out and put his hand on Michael's shoulder

Michael came awake instantly-va up, one hand wrapped around Shane's wrist, eyes open and blazing red, fangs down and catching the light on razor-sharp points and edges

Shane didn't ht have rocked back on his heels just a little That was better than Claire could have done; she'd have fallen backward at the very least, and Michael would probably have broken her wrist-not intentionally, but sorry didn't matter much when it came to shattered bones

"Easy," Shane said in a low, calm voice "Easy,to hurt you here"

Michael froze The red died down to eone, replaced by cool blue He looked pale, but that was normal for him now Claire saw his throat work as he sed, and then he shakily pulled in a breath and let go of Shane's wrist "God," he whispered, and shook his head "Sorry, man"

"No draht?"