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She shook her head "No François has her François de Venue," she told hi to need the sword"

Stephanie was afraid she was going to pass out She could s room floor where Lena and Suzette were still strewn on the floor, naked and supine, and crawling over the body of one of theat her with their nails and teeth, as if they were canines or hyenas, starved for aat her

"It’s tiot to let et help, and quickly"

"No It’s ti?" she asked She tried to keep her voice level and calie could just become part of this travesty

She hadn’t really looked around the room--there hadn’t been time, and she’d been too stunned She hadn’t seen any weapons That thought made her feel weaker Suzette and Lena had apparently attacked the woman with their bare hands--and teeth And what they had done…

She didn’t dare think about it She had to keep her wits together Terror was filling her At any minute, they could turn on her

"It’s ti at hiht to ask so manya vampire now? Was he just under soirls? Oh, God, just looking at theo?"

"With , we need help here," she said very softly

For a istered in his eyes A forirls were doing, and knew that the women needed help

No, that they all needed help

But the look was quickly gone "You must come, Stephanie I don’t want to hurt you"

"If you don’t want to--don’t!" she told hi… look ! For the love of God, look at Suzette and Lena!"

He did Once again, for split seconds, she thought she had hie, eerie sry," he said, and it sounded as if he was nothing more than amused

Desperately, and quickly, she assessed her situation

Lena and Suzette--suddenly turned into bloodied,roo blocked the et out the back Vampires couldn’t abide seawater She reht, Doug Just one minute," she said

He stood there She turned and walked slowly, as if she was intent on seeing what the girls were doing

Her stoirls

Only then did she run, clicking the lock on the back door, sliding the glass with a sla out with the speed of the wind

She heard hi out a command to Suzette and Lena that they must stop her

She didn’t dare look back

She ran for the sea Plunging in, she swa stopped at the shore He couldn’t come any farther All she had to do was stand in the surf, and he couldn’t reach her Help would co lifted a hand, and swept it toward the sea Lena and Suzette, absurdly naked and bloodied, bounded in after her

She could outswim the two, she was certain In a parallel line, she crawled hard, diving under, swerving, trying to lose the after her like a pair of sharks, drawn to the scent of blood

The salt water was stinging her eyes At her speed, herquickly

"Stephanie!"

She heard her na, she tried to see to the shore There was someone there… help!

If she’d listened in the first place…

She kicked with all her strength, trying to get in ahead of her maniacal one-ti in, toward the man who had come to save her

Yet…

As she reached him, she knew

She saw the amusement in his eyes

It was the ed Eyes that had always been light with laughter were now that strange yellow-red that had struck her as being so unusual in Lucien’s striking features He seerown His shoulders were broader, and the amusement in his features was touched with conteer