ASLYUM HUNTER Chapter One

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Kate Atwood tended to the orchids in her greenhouse. She whispered to them in a soothing, absentminded way. Se supposed if she were a cat person, shed chat with her catsbut she was a plant person. A garden architect, Kate had been pressed to finish a series of sketches for a new client in the Hamptons, and she was exhausted. Her specialty was complex mazes comprised of tall Siberian elm, a fast growing hedge. Mazes could be simple enough, but the client wanted an intricate one with only a single definitive route through it. Kate left the slipper orchids she was tending and wandered over to her bonsai. She clipped a single branch. This was her haven. Suddenly, she felt a cool blast of air. She whirled around to face a tall man in silhouette by the door. "Who are you?" she asked, eyeing her pruning shears, in case she needed a weapon.

"I just need a moment of your time, Ms. Atwood," the man said as he stepped into the greenhouse. In the dim light, she saw he was dressed in black, about six feet tall with curly black hair and intensely eerie gray eyes. She backed up, putting her hand on the shears. "I wouldnt do that, Ms. Atwood," he said, his accent vaguely European, perhaps Slavic. Kate uncurled her hand and tried to measure her chances for escape. She cursed herself for never bringing her cell phone into the greenhouse. "What do you want?" she asked accusingly. "Dont worry," he sneered. "My intentions have nothing to do with whats likely crossing your mind right now." He took about five steps toward her. "I want you to get me into Silver Pond." She blinked slowly. Silver Pond. She hadnt heard the name in years. "Why dont you simply march up to the front door?" she asked him. "Why indeed? Why would a psychiatric hospital be locked so tight during the day that not a living soul

is seen coming or going? Why would it only appear operational at night?" Katie brushed a stray blond hair from her face. This man was delusional, and she was trapped. "Who knows? I dont see how I can help you." Clearly he needed to be admitted to Silver Pond himself. Shed just have to talk her way out of this. "You dont?" He took a few more steps until he was right in front of her. He smiled, revealing deep craggy dimples, but his eyes were still eerily pale. "I havent been to Silver Pond since I was a girl." Kate thought back to the last time she visited her grandfather. The estate, poised on the rocky Connecticut coast, had been in the family since 1929. Her greatgrandfather had built the house with twentytwo bedrooms, eleven fireplaces, a ballroom and, as Kate found out when she was a little girl, enough hidden staircases and secret passageways to play hideandseek forever. When her grandfather had first inherited it, he had the original maze planted, which only got more and more complex with each passing season of the Siberian elms growth. Kate knew every turn, every

leaf in the maze, a hiding spot from her parents bitter divorce. But when her grandfather died, and her own father showed no interest in the estate, the family trust had decided it would be best to sell Silver Pond to a private hospital foundation. "Thats all right," the stranger said to her. "Not much has changed since you were a little girl. A few padded rooms, a lot more locks and shutters to keep out all light, but the maze, the hidden staircases, the underground passagewaystheyre all still there." "Look," Kate said soothingly, "Id like to help you, but " "Im not insane." He reached out and brushed another stray hair from her face, his fingertip lingering on her cheek. She stiffened. "If youre not, then let me go." "Im afraid I cant. We need to go now, Kate." And with one swift movement, he pricked her skin with a needle, and Kates world went black.

Kate woke up in darkness, her mouth dry, head pounding. She was lying on a mossy bed near a tree. Suddenly, she remembered the stranger and in a panic tried to sit up. The sudden movement made her retch. "Rest, Kate," he whispered, his expression one of concern. She scrambled backwards. Was he going to rape and kill her out in the woods somewhere? She looked around, trying to get her bearings. "Were at Silver Pond," he whispered. "My name is Damian Strauss." Looking closely at him, Kate saw he was handsome and his voice was calmfor a kidnapper. "What do you want?" she asked, her own voice raspy. "I told you. I want you to get me into the heart of Silver Pond. And then you can sneak out the same way. Ill give you the keys to my car." He gestured toward the SUV parked nearby. "And you can leave. You can call the police if you want. It wont matter as long as Im inside."

"If youre that desperate to get into the hospital, Im sure a doctor would be happy to help you." He shook his head. "Im afraid that Dr. Max Wolfe, who runs Silver Pond, has no interest in admitting anyone except the undead." "The undead?" She raised one eyebrow. He nodded. "Vampires. Its a haven for them. He locks them up by day. They wake at night to hunt and feed." "Hunt and feed?" This guy was clearly over the edge. He looked over at her. "Get me through the maze, and Ill prove it." "Who are you?" "Im a dhampir." When she looked at him quizzically, he said, "My father was a vampire who attacked my mother. Im human and vampire. And now, simply put, I hunt the undead."

Kate weighed her options. He was clearly disturbed. She could get him inside the gates of Silver Pond and then find a nurse or doctor to help her, a phone. If she didnt cooperate, there was no telling what he would do. "All right. Ill get you through the maze." She stood slowly, still feeling a little woozy. "At the back of the property, theres an iron and stone gate. We always hid a key under a rock nearby. Its probably still there. Come on." She walked along the hedge for some time, Damian following her, until she reached the gate built into the bushes. She knelt down and reached her hand beneath the bush, feeling around for the stone. It was there, smooth and worn, just as she had remembered. She turned it over and felt for the key. "Here," she said, handing it to him. He took the key and unlocked the padlock. He put the key in his pocket. "Now the maze." Creeping stealthily, she led him to one of the maze entrances. Her grandfathers maze was renowned for its size, complexity and the height of the hedges.

"Come on," she whispered. She hoped she could eventually take a few shortcuts and rights and lefts, and lose her kidnapper in the maze. She started running and heard him following her. The maze was so much a part of her that she found herself easily following her favorite route. Ducking left and right, then sneaking through a hidden break in the hedges, she soon found herself alone. And then she saw it. On a fourthfloor balcony of Silver Pond. A man, a thing, clutching a woman to his chest. Mouth on her neck. When he had his fill, he dropped her body over the balcony as if it were trash. Kate covered her mouth, feeling as if she would be sick. She turned around, hoping to see the dhampir, because with horror she realized he had told her the truth. Chapter Two Print this Page Kate felt tremors pass through her entire body until her very teeth chattered. This was all a nightmare

or at the very least something induced by whatever Damian had injected her with. This couldnt be real. And yet, when she bit the inside of her cheek, she felt pain and then the saltysweet taste of blood filled her mouth. This was real. She was awake. And she was in grave danger. She rushed back the way she came, hoping to exit the maze and get off the grounds of Silver Pond. She would race down the road and try to flag a passing car. Anything but stay here with a kidnapper and bloodsuckingwhat? She didnt even know what she was dealing with. Vampires? Impossible. Insane. Racing back through the maze, heart pounding, she rounded a corner and ran right into a creature of the night. She heard her own shriek as if from down a long tunnel. "Going somewhere?" the creature asked. He stood at least six foot four, and underneath his crepey, translucent skin, bluish veins pulsed.

But Kate didnt focus on his skin, or his eerie, corpselike eyes. All she could see were his fangs, long incisors that came to a point. She backed away. "Damian!" she screamed, praying he was as he said, and really intended to slay vampires. She cursed herself for losing him in the maze. The vampire took two steps toward her and grabbed her by the waist. "You look quite beautiful in the moonlight," he leered. His grip was crushing her. Kate struggled in his arms, feeling like her ribs were breaking and the life was being squeezed out of her. "Let her go," a voice commanded from behind. The vampire turned, his undead eyes narrowing with hatred. He dropped Kate to the ground with a spine jarring thud, and in two superhuman strides reached Damian. Kate rolled onto her side in pain, and watched Damian pull an immense knife out of its sheath. In one lightningfast motion, he jammed the knife into the vampires stomach, and twisted it up to the

beasts heart. The vampire collapsed, mouth open, fangs gleaming in the moonlight, eyes fixed upward. "Dead. Again. This time permanently," Damian said wryly. "I" Kate was out of breath. "I cant believe what Im seeing." "Believe it, Kate. Though Im sorry to have brought you here now. I just wanted to get into Silver Pond. I really thought wed be undetected." He helped her up and put his hand on her arm and squeezed it gently. "I really am sorry." Kate shook her head, fury replacing terror. "You drugged me to get me here!" He stepped closer to her. "I know." He replaced the knife in its sheath. Next to it was a gun. "I wouldnt have done it if I didnt know innocent lives were at stake." "Whats wrong with calling the police?" "And what do you propose I tell them?" Damiens mouth twisted slightly into a smirk,

She stared at him. "Surely, if they saw what I did tonight, they would believe you." "First, theyd have to get onto the grounds. And to do that, theyd need to believe my claims in the first place. Second, they wouldnt understand how to kill them." Damian turned and kicked at the vampires body with his boot. "How do you kill them? Seems to me that information would be useful right about now." Kate glared at him as she spoke. "Pierce the heart. Used to be the old wooden stake. Nowmore expedient to use the blade. Mine is a Japanese tanto with a carbon steel bladeand a pure silver tip. I coat it with hawthorn oil. Gun has silver bulletsI dont find it kills them, but it does slow them down. Fires useful. But dragging them out into bright sunlight is most useful of all." "You had no right to bring me here." She felt numb, shock spreading through her body. "Come on. Lets get out of the maze, and you can go. Heres the key to my SUV." He handed it to her.

She looked up at him, and started walking, if only as a way to do something, to calm herself. They moved through the maze, Siberian elm leaves occasionally brushing up against her face. "Why do you do this alone? Why you?" "Because I see them." "I see them. I saw that one on the roof. The one who hurt me," she said softly, acutely aware of the pain in her ribs. "No, I see them where you dont. I see them on the subways and in the shadows. I see them eyeing the homeless and leering at children. I see them where ordinary people dont. Its the curse of the dhampir." "But still, why? Why be a hunter?" "Because I will avenge my mother." He glanced over at her. "I really am sorry, Kate." Kate tried to focus and attempted to assimilate the night. She took Damiens hand and led him through an arch into a short tunnel. "Turn left here," she whispered. They crouched low as they moved through the tunnel. It was dark, and the leaves were still all around them.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked. "Dont you trust me?" she asked in a voice edged with anger and grudging respect. "Ironic, isnt it?" She squeezed his hand tighter as the tunnel grew narrower. Soon, they were forced to crawl as the hedge became more overgrown. "Kate!" He pulled on her hand. "What are we doing?" "Hush." They crawled along, and finally, they were inside a small room. The walls were made of leaves, and when they sat down, their heads almost touched the ceiling of Siberian elm. "Whats this?" "My fort. And this," she moved aside the overgrown brush lining the floor to reveal a metal hatch, "is our way into Silver Pond. Its a tunnel into the heart of the house. My grandfather loved surprises and secrets." She smiled at the memories of them eating picnic lunches here in their hiding spot. If he could see what had happened to his beloved estate, he would have been devastated.

"Thank you," Damian whispered. "I will kill them allmost especially Max Wolfe. He is evil incarnate." "Im coming with you," she said resolutely. "Thats insane." "I cant forget what I saw here tonight. I cant go back to my hothouse flowers and my old life and not be involved. Im going in there. More importantly, you need me. I can get you to any room, to anyplace in there, using hidden staircases and false walls." He shook his head, then kissed her forehead. "No, Kate. I was wrong to bring you here. Youre sweetcourageous and sweetto even offer, but no." "Im going." She lifted the hatch and peered down. Blackness greeted them, and, echoing from far off, the sounds of screams. She stared at him. "We have to do it together. Come on. Someone needs us."

Without waiting for an answer, she clambered down the metal ladder attached to the tunnel wall. "Damn!" Damian cursed as he followed her into the tunnel. Chapter Three Print this Page The tunnel was claustrophobic and darker than any night, any place, Kate had ever experienced. She tried to not let the sheer blackness of it terrify her into turning back. Ahead of her, from somewhere deep in the house, she heard screams. And worse. Kate heard animallike screeches and grunts. Every part of her, every cell in her body, wanted to turn back. But she thought of the woman on the roof, of Damians belief that children and the homeless were being targeted, and from deep within, she summoned courage that she didnt even know existed. They walked, their footsteps echoing on the dank stone floor. Something furry ran across the arch of

her foot, and she screamed slightly. Damian drew up beside her. "Rats," he said. "I hate rats," she whispered. "I hate vampires more. Come on." He grabbed her hand tightly, and they forged on ahead. At the end of the tunnel, they encountered a stone stairwell leading up to a door. They climbed the steps, hearing scurrying. At the top, Kate reached a hand out to turn the knoband again touched something furry. She shivered, feeling squeamish. "This will be the second floor," she said to him in the blackness. "Let me go first. And if anything goes wrong, fire this gun," he said, slipping it into her palm. The cold metal felt foreign to her. "And," he whispered, his breath in her ear, making her shiver for another reason entirely, "if at some point it goes even more horribly wrong, dont wait for me. Exit the way we came."

"No." Kates voice was urgent. It was a combination of fear of being in the tunnel without him and admiration for him. She felt his lips brush hers, giving her an electric jolt of fearlessness. "Be a good girl. Just leave this place if it gets crazy in there." She nodded. A scream pierced the silence. Damian grabbed her free hand, the one without the gun, and they opened the door the slightest crack. "Were on the locked ward," he told her. "And? Now what?" "Now we find Max Wolfe. And kill anything between us and him." He led her down what was clearly intended as a hospital ward. The rooms were equipped with heavyduty locks and small windows centered on the doors allowing an attendant to check on the patient inside. Each room was equipped with a bed, and what looked like Velcro and canvas straps. A simple metal chair. A sink. But there, all resemblance to a real hospital ended. Kate felt as if the walls were closing in around her. As they crept

down the hall, she could see each room had spattered blood stains, sights and smells she was certain would haunt her foreverif she lived until morning. "Where are they all?" she asked him. "Out in the night. Recreating hell." They clung to one wall, moving stealthily, and heard a moan coming from one of the rooms. Quickly, Damian urged her along, and they found the room the sound emanated from. A nearly dead victim was splayed on the floor, his throat a bloody mess. Kate halfclosed her eyes as Damian knelt by the dying mans side. The victim looked young, perhaps a college student. He sputtered and coughed, blood coming up from his throat. Then there was a final gasp, and his eyes opened wide, fixed on the ceiling. Damian gently shut the lids, crossed himself and stood up. "This place is like Hades itself. Lets search for Max. I think his office is off to the right, in that wing. I guessed this was the hospital wing by the vampire activity I saw at night. But that wing appears to be administrative."

"That used to be where my room was. The childrens wing. I know it really well. Theres a shortcut over in the library at the end of this hall." Running, now, they reached the end of the hall and, sure enough, there was still a library on the right. Kate and Damian walked in, surprising a vampire who was opening the French doors to the balcony. He wheeled around, on hearing them. The vampire hissed and bared his fangs, which were covered in blood. Kate shrank back slightly, horrified. Damian pulled out his tanto and was at the vampire in three strides, waving his blade from side to side. The vampire shot out a hand and grabbed Damian. Kate watched Damian avoid its grasp, but then in the blink of an eye, as if in some sort of fastforward, the vampire spun and delivered a vicious kick to Damians stomach, knocking him against a wall. Damian bent over, struggling to find his wind again. Now the vampire turned to her, grinned lasciviously, yet with a deadeyed coldness. He was suddenly in front of her, as if he had just flown across the room. Kate raised the gun and fired, just as Damian had

told her. The bullet pierced the vampire and it shrank back, hissing, nearly falling to the ground. Then it screeched like some kind of rabid animal. Kates bullet bought Damian just enough time. He regained his breath and stood over the vampire and plunged his blade into its chest cavity, killing it. "Weve got to move quickly, Kate. They have to know were here." Kate took him to a panel in the librarys rich walnut wood wall. She lifted the crown molding precisely to reveal a hidden passageway. "After you," she said. The passageway was as dark as the tunnelonly not as dank and damp. "No rats," Damian offered. "I suppose, on a night like this, I should be grateful for small favors." At the end of this passageway was a half door. "This used to be the childrens nursery," she told him.

They quietly opened the door and entered an empty office, which was lavish and decorated with antiques. "Ol Max has done well for himself," Damian mused. He walked over to a painting on the wall. "This is an original Goya. And that," he pointed at a vase on a shelf, "looks like Ming dynasty." "How do you know so much about art?" "The vampires." She narrowed her eyes questioningly. "They plunder as they go through their existences. A lot of them amass wealth. None of them fully appreciate beauty, but the money buys them security." "Look." Kate nodded toward a filing cabinet. "Maybe you can find some information in there." Damian moved over to the cabinet. Above it hung a large portrait of Wolfe himself. "Theres the bastard," he said, looking up at the oil painting. Kate stared at it. "Evil incarnate."

Damian nodded and opened the metal cabinet and began rifling through the files. Kate strode over to Dr. Max Wolfes desk. "Oh my God, Damian," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "What?" He turned from the cabinet to face her. "This picture." She lifted a five by seven in a silver frame. "This is Max Wolfe." She pointed at a smiling man in the frame who looked just like the portrait on the wall. "And this man," she pointed at the man next to him, the one Maxs arm was slung around in a gesture of friendship, "is my grandfather." "No!" Damian said hoarsely. Kate heard a noise behind her and turned. Then she dropped the picture frame to the floor, shattering the glass. Chapter Four Print this Page "Dr. Wolfe," Damian said wryly. "How nice of you to join us. Isnt the gun a bit of overkill when youve

got hordes of bloodsucking vampires at your beck and call?" Kate stared at Max Wolfe as he waved the gun, gesturing for her to go stand beside Damian. Max looked to be about seventy years old, yet he was still muscular and dressed in expensive tailored clothes. His eyes were a steely gray and murderous. Kate moved over to Damians side, and instinctively grabbed his hand. He squeezed back, imbuing her with a bit of courage. "My patients will be so glad for fresh blood," Max said. "And to think, youve come right to them and made it all so easy." "What is this place?" Kate asked. "My grandfather owned Silver Pond. Hed be sickened to see you ruin it this way." Kate looked toward the desk where she had found the photo of her grandfather and Max Wolfe togetherand where shed put down Damians gun. She wondered if Damian or Max had spotted it.

"Your grandfather?" Max said. "Oh, Damian, I have to give you credit. Let me guess. Little Kate. We met once, you know." "I dont recall," Kate said frostily. "You were a tiny little thing in your riding breeches, leading your pony around the grounds. Your grandfather thought you were simply charming. He didnt want to leave you, Kate. You know, all this was your grandfathers idea." Kate wanted to lunge at him. "How dare you speak ill of him!" Damian shook his head. "Low, even for you, Max." "But its true. He was facing deathParkinsons, coupled with aggressive tumors in his lungs. I offered him immortality. I told him about my studies on the rejuvenating effects of blood, of vampirism. That it was far more than fantasy and I was very close to making it reality. He funded my studies in the hopes it might buy him eternal life." "But surely he had no idea it would come to this! Feeding on innocent lives? He couldnt have known!" Kate thought of her gentle grandfather.

Yes, he was a captain of industry, and she didnt doubt in a boardroom that he could be tough, but not like this. "Dont listen to him, Kate. Ol Max here is a master manipulator, arent you?" Kate glanced at Damian. She was getting the impression that he knew Max very well. That they had crossed paths before. Damians face, even in profile, was startlingly handsome, but she could see his eyes had turned dark. She looked over to Max, whose face was smug. "You know, Damian, we could have left you for dead. Who knew youd come back to haunt me all these years later?" "Well, I like thinking of myself as a thorn in your side." "Not for long." Kate shook her head. "So have you found the keys to immortality?" Max pursed his lips. "Im in the final stages of creating a vaccine against death and aging. That way

I may live forever without the rather nasty little habit of drinking blood." "Yeah, but the Hippocratic oath never came between you and your victims, did it, Max?" Damian sneered. Kate could feel rage radiating from Damian. "And do you think you can control them forever, Max?" he snarled. "Sooner or later these soulless ghouls will happily drink your blood, too. Even I might applaud them for that." "Dont worry about me, Damian. Fresh meat like you and your girlfriend here will keep them satisfied until I perfect my vaccine. Come along, you two. I thought wed go out into the garden for a little fun in the moonlight. Why not send you back through the maze with all my precious patients hunting for you?" Damian looked over at Kate. "This guy is really getting on my nerves." "Mine, too," Kate replied with a bravado she didnt feel. Nothing could be worse than running for her life, hunted like a field mouse with a dozen hungry cats on her tail. Max gestured toward the door. "Come along then."

Kate started walking, and at that moment, Damian suddenly lunged for the desk and grabbed a letter opener. In the same instant, she saw him palm the gun, while he waved the letter opener in a gesture of defiance. "Put the letter opener down, Damian," Max said. Damian stared at Max with hatred and fury in his eyes. Max trained the gun on Kate. "Put it down or your lady friend will start the maze with a bloody wound. Itll slow her down, and leave a nice trail." Kate watched as Damian feigned defeat and fell in step beside her, Max still behind them aiming his gun at them. She felt a surge of hope. Damian was fearless. Still, Kate was desperate to ask Damian if he had a plan. Why didnt he just pull the gun on Max? A run through the maze would only prolong the inevitableunless they could reach the gate and get to the car. She tried to envision the maze in her mind to devise a route in her head.

Max marched them down the long, dark hallways, down the main marble staircase and out into the stone courtyard. Its large, granite slabs formed an immense chessboard, and according to legend, Kates greatgrandfather and a neighboring steel magnate used to play chess together, using their household staff as the pieces. Max waited until the vampires on the rooftop spotted them. Soon, the creatures began making their way to the courtyard, their snarls and hisses sending icy shivers up Kates back. She turned to face Damian. "Whatever happens, dont lose me. I dont want to die alone in there." "I have no intention of losing you," he said. Kate looked around the edges of the chessboard. She wished she could be so confident. They were seriously outnumbered. Chapter Five Print this Page

When the vampire horde had assembled, Max gestured toward the maze. "Even B. F. Skinner himself knew the only way to train rats through a maze was to give them a reward." "Hmm," Damian smirked. "I never pictured myself as a rat treat. You, on the other hand, are lower than a rat." "Why so hostile, Damian?" Kate watched this exchange, thinking Maxs eyes were utterly devoid of sanity, yet coldly cunning. "Oh, I dont know. Maybe because when my mother worked for you years ago, she was raped by one of your pets and you urged her to have the child. She respected and trusted you." "Would you have rather I told her not to go through with the pregnancy?" "But you knew I would be a dhampir. And you were the one to place her in harms way." Kate listened, horrified. "I had hoped, Damian, that being a dhampir might bring with it elements of immorality. Like my

friends here." He gestured to the vampires, who stood, leering, around them. "Its only brought me pain." Damians voice was filled with loathing. "Well, then, good thing were going to end it tonight." Max started toward them. Kate and Damian backed up. The maze was behind them. "Heres how its going to go down, Damian. You and your girlfriend are going to run into that maze. Im going to give you maybe a thirtysecond head start. Then my very hungry pets go into the maze and find you, feast on you and end this tonight. Kateits a pity you were brought into this. But you have only Damian to blame." Kate felt the anger coursing through her. "Youre psychotic. This isnt his fault. You are responsible for this. For all of this." Max began laughinga cackle that shot through her like fingernails scratching along a blackboard.

"Im not psychotic, Kate. I havent lost touch with reality. This is my reality. And it will soon be yours. Go on you two, into the maze." Kate felt the night air on her face. The moment was utterly surreal. She was going into the maze and to her death. She glanced over at Damian. He didnt look frightened at all. He squeezed her hand as they backed up right to the entrance. "Go on," Max said. "Ill count to twenty." Damian just stood his ground. "123" Damian squeezed Kates hand. Then, without warning, he pulled the gun out from behind his back and shot Max square in the chest, sending him reeling backward. He collapsed onto the ground, an expression of shock on his face. The vampires began screaming, a horrible, keening sound as they stood over Maxs body, blood seeping out from his chest.

"Come on!" Damian pulled Kate into the maze. "Take us to the tunnel. We have a few seconds while they freak out, then theyll be after us." Heart pounding, both from nerves and running, Kate found herself operating on instinct. She cut left, then right. Then left. She tried to glance over her shoulder. "Dont look for them. Just run!" Damian shouted. "Take us to the tunnel." The tunnel? What could he possibly be thinking? In the darkness, elm branches brushing her face, Kate fought against the urge to exit the maze on the other side and make a run for the car. Instead, she placed her trust in the mysterious man next to her, and relied on memory and intuition to find the tunnel pathway. Then, she heard them. The monsters were in the maze now, their shrieks and howls filling Kates ears along with the pounding of her own heart. They had clearly gotten over their shock at seeing Max shot to death in front of themperhaps they had even fed on his bloody body.

"This way," she urged, grabbing Damians hand. Now they crawled on hands and knees, as fast as they could. "Down here." They descended the ladder and returned to the tunnelthe hellish black tunnel that would give her nightmares forever, she was certain. If she lived to have nightmares, of course. "Damiando you have any idea what youre doing?" "Oddly enough, Beautiful, I do. Faster." Again, Kate ran through the tunnel, trying to ignore the scurrying of rats. They came to the door on the other end, opened it, and once again emerged in the house. Damian turned and locked the door to the tunnel. "Help me," he said to her. He started moving chairs and then a mattress and bed frames from the ward up against the door. "Now what?" Kate said. "Now comes the tricky part."

"Yes?" She raised an eyebrow and almost laughed out loud. As if the night hadnt been complicated enough! "We set fire to the whole damn place, hopefully burn them in the tunnel, and alert the police. Let them figure the entire mess out." Damian pulled Kate along by the hand, and they ran down the hall to a nurses station and smashed a cabinet behind it. He handed her bottles. "Rubbing alcohol. And I dont know whats in these ones, but lets hope its flammable." He started pouring the rubbing alcohol on the carpets. Then furniture. "Go grab some books from Maxs office. Kindling." He stopped for a second and winked at her. "Poetic justice, dont you think?" She nodded and ran to retrieve books. While in Maxs office, she took the photo of Max and her grandfather. Though part of her wanted to forget this night, she knew she would still be driven to find out more about her familys role in this hideous conspiracy.

She returned to Damian, who took a lighter from his pocket and started pages of the books she handed him on fire. One after another, books began blazing. Then he threw them on the alcoholdoused furniture, carpets, and curtains. The flames started timidly at first, then grew stronger, the blaze licking and curling as it crept up the walls. Kate felt the heat blast her face. "Come on, Damian, we need to get out of here." "One minute," he said, taking her hand. She wondered what he was waiting for. But then she heard themthe vampires clawing at the door. She heard their screeches and panic. She guessed smoke was curling through the tunnel. "Now we can go." He led her back down the hallway, which was on fire, and they both coughed and squinted their eyes. Acrid smoke filled Kates throat. At the end of the hall, Damian picked up a flaming book by its unlit corner, then raced down the stairs and started fires there.

"Now all we have to do is get to the car," he said, as if that was a simple matter. "Is that all?" "And call 911 and get out of here before the cops come and think were murdering arsonists." The ran out the front door and down the steps, running across the lawn to the wrought iron gate theyd passed through what seemed like ages ago. They made it out and to their car. They stood there a moment, watching the beautiful halls of Silver Pond in flames. From far off, they heard a siren. "Guess we wont need to call 911," he said. He turned to face her. "I had no ideaabout Max and your grandfather. Im sorry." She nodded. "Its all right." "I better get you back to your orchids." She stared up at him, and used her finger to wipe away a smudge of ash. "I cant go back to themmy plants."

"Why?" "Because after tonight, its rather meaningless. I need to stop this. Obviously there are more of these things out there somewhere." "Everywhere," he said solemnly. "But this is my fight." Suddenly, Damiens mouth was on Kates, hungrily kissing her, then pulling back and gently biting her lip, then kissing her fiercely again. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him, then moved her lips up to his ear, kissing him there, and delighting in the shiver it caused. Then, thinking of the photo in her pocket, she whispered in his ear, "Now its my fight, too." His bravado returned. "Okay, Beautiful." They climbed into the car, and he held her hand as they pulled away from Silver Pond. Kate nestled against Damian, watching the fire in the rearview mirror. The home of her childhood was now gone, but somehow, from its ashes, she and Damian would continue to unravel its mysteries. The End