a statue poised upon the street corner.

"Hurry up!" Toret urged.

"Be quiet," Chane said, only his mouth moving. His eyes snapped open, and he drew his sword.

"Did you find her?"

"Perhaps," he said, and he headed down the nearest side street at a trot.

Toret followed, so angry now that he wanted blood. He wanted to find the half-elf or the dhampir, or even the dog trying to get his Sapphire—something to take the brunt of his panicked rage. As they passed an open alleyway, he heard sobbing and shuffling footsteps.

"This way!" he shouted, not caring who might hear.

As he bolted down the alley, Chane turned back to catch up. The narrow way was cluttered with refuse, crates, and other odds and ends left behind the shops that the alley served. Toret darted around obstacles or kicked them out of his way.

A shadow wavered to his right. What he saw wrenched a moan from him.

Sapphire struggled along a side alley wall, supporting herself with her hands. One hand was coated in red blood. The right sleeve of her gown was sheared away below the cuff. Her own fluids trickled from a circle around her wrist, and also leaked from her mouth, down her chin and throat, to blacken her bodice and chest.

But the worst of it made him hesitate as she lifted her eyes to him.

A long, splintered timber protruded from the center of her chest. Her expression twisted up in fear and confusion.

Toret rushed forward to grab her as she collapsed. He lowered her to the alley floor, supporting her shoulders.

"Sapphire! Stay with me!" he ordered, his tone vicious with demand. "Chane!"

Chane already knelt beside him, studying the timber through Sapphire's chest with cold composure. Sapphire mouthed something, but all that came out was a gargled choking.

"Again," Toret urged. "Say it again, slowly." He watched her mouth this time to read the words from her lips.

Can't get it out.

Toret grabbed the timber.

"No," Chane said, catching his wrist and pulling his hand away. "She's weak and half-drained." He paused. "It's in her heart."

Renewed panic gripped Toret. "I won't lose her!"

"She still moves," Chane whispered in puzzlement. "A wooden stake through the heart should destroy one of our kind."

Help me, Sapphire mouthed.

"What do I do?" Toret pleaded.

Toret's dread mounted as Chane remained passively contemplative.

"Tear your wrist open—down to veins," Chane instructed. "As I pull the strut out, you must feed her. There is no life in our fluids, but perhaps it will keep her body whole long enough to take her back to the house. Then we must find her blood as quickly as possible."

Toret hesitated. "I haven't fed for days. I can't… you feed her. I'll pull the timber."

Chane jerked upright with an expression close to revulsion. Just as quickly, his features smoothed back to calm indifference. He put the edge of his sword to his wrist and sliced deeply, and his own fluids began dripping to the ground. Dropping the sword, he forced the base of his hand into Sapphire's mouth.

"Bite down," he ordered, and then to Toret, "Now."

Toret wrenched the timber out, wincing as it ground against the bones of Sapphire's rib cage. Her eyes and mouth opened wide as she tried to scream. Chane held fast, forcing his wrist between her teeth, smothering any outcry.

"Quiet, and drink," Chane ordered.

His words cut through to Sapphire, and she bit down, swallowing mouthfuls. Chane's upper lip trembled once in a snarl, but he neither recoiled nor cried out. Toret felt a strange rush of gratitude and was ashamed of the emotion.

The seepage in Sapphire's chest slowed and stopped. Finally, Chane put his free hand on her forehead and jerked his wrist away with effort.

"More!" she wailed at him.

"No," Toret said. "We must get you home. I'll bring you life to feed on."

Sapphire grabbed Toret's shoulders and snapped at his throat, but he held her down until she calmed and simply lay in his arms, twitching.

Chane tore a strip of silk from the hem of Sapphire's dress and bound up his wrist. He shredded more fabric to wrap her torso.

"I will find us a coach," he said. "Once back on the open street, we must get her out of sight quickly."

Without further comment, he headed down the narrow side alley.

Toret rocked Sapphire gently, understanding for the first time exactly how Rashed had felt and why he refused to run from Miiska.

"It's all right," he crooned. "I'll have you home soon."

He wouldn't wait for the hunter and her minions to find one of them alone