"Kissa, shoot the man."
"No," I said. I undid the chain. "Don't shoot him."
"Don't do it , Anita," Larry said.
"I can't watch them shoot you, not if I can stop it." I let the chain pool in my hand; the cross shone with a blue-white flame like burning magnesium. It was a bad idea to throw it away. A real bad idea. I tossed it into the woods. The cross glittered like a falling star and died out of sight in the dark.
"Now your cross, Larry," Janos said.
Larry shook his head. "You'll have to shoot me."
"We'll shoot the boy," Janos said. "Or perhaps I'll feed upon him while you watch." He pinned Jeff against himself with one arm, while his other hand dug into the boy's hair, holding him immobile, neck exposed.
Larry looked at me. "What do I do, Anita?"
"You have to decide this one for yourself," I said.
"They'll really kill him, won't they?"
"Yeah, they will."
He cursed under his breath and let the cross fall against his chest. He undid the chain and threw it out into the woods with a lot of force to it, as if he could throw his anger with it.
When the light from his cross died away, we stood there in the darkness. The moonlight that had seemed so bright before was a dim substitute.
My night vision returned in stages. Kissa stepped closer, the gun still pointed at us. The first time I'd seen her, she had exuded sexuality, power; now she was docile, quiet, as though some of her power had been drained away. She looked pale and drawn. She needed to feed.
"Why haven't they let you feed tonight?" I asked.
"Our master is not a hundred percent sure of Kissa's loyalty. It needed testing, didn't it, my dark beauty?"
Kissa didn't answer. She stared at me with large, dark eyes, but the gun never wavered.
"Feed, children, feed."
Pallas and Bettina walked over to Stirling. They stared at me over him. I stared back.
Stirling grabbed my leg. "You can't let them have me. Please, please."
Pallas knelt by him. Bettina walked around to the side I was on. She pulled Stirling's hand off my leg. The vampire's lower back brushed my legs. I took a step back, and Stirling started screaming.
Xavier and Ellie had already started to feed on the blessedly unconscious Ms. Harrison. Larry looked at me, hands out, empty, helpless.
I didn't know what to say.
"Don't touch me, don't touch me!" Stirling batted at Pallas with his good hand, and the vampire caught it easily, held it.
"At least put him under," I said.
Pallas looked up at me. "After he tried to kill you? Why show him mercy?"
"Maybe I don't want to hear him scream."
Pallas smiled. Her eyes flashed dark fire. "For you, Anita, anything."
She grabbed Stirling's chin, forcing him to meet her gaze.
"Ms. Blake, help me. Help..." The words died in his mouth.