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Buchanan busy. I'll grab MacPhie and teleport away with him."
Just then, Draganesti halted and cocked his head toward Romatech. He raced back inside, followed by the two Scotsmen. The door banged shut. "You fool," Jedrek hissed at Yuri. "Your cowardice ruined our chance."
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Yuri hung his head. Nadia shivered. "It's cold. Can we go home now?" "I still don't know what caused Ian MacPhie to age," Jedrek grumbled. "Why do we need to know?" Nadia asked. "Nobody wants to age." Jedrek wrapped a hand around her neck and squeezed. "You dare to question me?" "I was wrong. Forgive me, Master." Jedrek released her. His real concern was how Draganesti had managed to invade their Brooklyn
headquarters during the day. He just had a sneaking suspicion that MacPhie's sudden aging was
somehow connected. He wanted answers. Tonight. After a few minutes, a lone car pulled into the parking lot. A young man emerged from the black Lexus. Jedrek recognized him from the photos he'd studied. This was Gregori Holstein, vice president at Romatech and good friend to Roman Draganesti.
"He'll know their secrets." Jedrek turned to Nadia. "Talk to him. Distract him, so Yuri can take him."
"Yes, Master." She edged toward the parking lot. Gregori removed a stuffed black garbage bag from the trunk of his car. He was singing to himself, repeating two words. Staying alive, staying alive. How fitting.
"Teleport him here," Jedrek ordered. "I want some time with him."
"Yes, Master." Yuri crept toward the parking lot, keeping low.
"Excuse me." Nadia approached Gregori.
He turned toward her. "Miss, what are you doing here?"
"Is this where they have the party with free food?"
"Yes." Gregori looked at her closely. "Are you all right, miss?"
"I'm so...very hungry." Nadia stumbled to the side.
Gregori dropped his garbage sack and caught her. Yuri zoomed up behind him to grab him, and a
second later, they both materialized next to Jedrek.
"What the--" Gregori grimaced as Jedrek looped the silver chain around his bare neck. Gregori's skin sizzled where the silver burned it. "The silver will keep you from teleporting away." Jedrek passed the ends of the chain to Yuri. "I
have a few questions." "Go to hell," Gregori growled. "He sent out a telepathic message," Nadia warned him as she joined them in the woods.
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"I heard it." Jedrek grabbed Gregori's head and plunged into a swift and ruthless psychic assault. It was a trick he'd learned over the centuries. He'd accidentally destroyed a few brains before he'd perfected his technique.
Gregori stiffened, trying to resist the invasion, but he was a young vampire, easy prey for Jedrek. He swept through Gregori's memories like flipping through a scrapbook, until he found the one he wanted.
A short Vamp in a white lab coat was talking to Draganesti. "The results are clear, sir. For every day you take the Stay-Awake drug, you will age a year. I recommend you stop using it immediately."
"That's why he turned gray?" Gregori asked.
"Silver," a blonde woman corrected him. "Roman, I agree with Laszlo. I don't want you to take the drug anymore."
"But you need help during the day with the baby," Roman protested.
"Master," Yuri hissed. "They're coming!"
Jedrek noted the guards pouring into the parking lot. He released Gregori, and the Vamp slumped forward, held up by the silver chain around his neck. "Shove him back to the parking lot."
Yuri yanked the chain free and pushed Gregori toward the parking lot. The injured Vamp stumbled toward the parked cars just as the guards zoomed toward him.
Jedrek grabbed the RPG and rested it on his shoulder. He selected the car closest to Gregori and the Vamp guards. He smiled as he pulled the trigger.
Toni was sitting in the security office with Howard Barr, silently ruminating over Ian's pigheaded behavior, when Howard jumped to his feet. "Shit!" He punched the alarm, then ran to the stash of weapons. He stuffed a pistol in his belt.
"What?" Toni scanned the monitors, but couldn't see well without her contacts. "Someone kidnapped Gregori from the parking lot!" Howard charged out the door with swords and pistols.
"Oh my gosh." Toni threw on her jacket and stuffed a Taser and some wooden stakes in her
pockets. Her heart raced. It was time to face her demons. She sprinted down the hall. The Vamps, naturally faster, had already grabbed weapons from Howard and zoomed outside. Shanna was in the foyer, trying to hold a wriggling Constantine and comfort Radinka at the same time.
"I don't care what they said, I have to go out there!" Radinka rushed to the front door. Toni beat her there. "Stay behind me." She flung open the door and dashed outside. Boom! An explosion ripped through a car. Pieces of metal and glass shot outward while flames
and smoke burst upward into the night sky. Toni halted in shock. Behind her, Radinka screamed. Constantine started crying.
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Toni walked forward slowly. An odd, echoing noise buzzed in her ears, making the screams and shouts seem far away, and though she knew she should move faster, her body wasn't cooperating. A car was on fire, but with all the parked cars nearby, more explosions could happen any second. Heat from the fire lapped at her face. Smoke cleared, and she saw bodies lying on the pavement.
Something snapped inside her, and suddenly she could run. "Ian!" She charged forward, her boots crunching on shattered glass. Where was he?
"Gregori!" Radinka ran to her son and collapsed beside him. He lifted a bloody hand to her face. Toni gasped, then coughed as smoke invaded her lungs. Her eyes stung as she desperately searched for a red and green plaid kilt. "Ian!"
He rose to his knees on the glass-strewn pavement, then slowly stood. Blood trickled down his legs.
"Ian!" She ran to him and cried out when he straightened. His face was torn and bleeding. She clutched his shoulders. "Oh, Ian. Your beautiful face." Tiny shards of glass were embedded in his skin.
"Careful, ye'll cut yerself," he whispered. "Go back. It's no' safe here." "I don't care." She plucked a shard of glass from his sweater. "I'm sorry I was rude to you," he said. "I really doona want to date anyone else." "That's good." Tears filled her eyes. "I'm afraid I'm becoming very...selfish where you're
concerned."
His smile looked a bit gruesome with all the blood on his face. "Can ye help the wounded get back inside?" She looked around and saw that most of the Vamps had risen to their feet and were grabbing their
weapons.
Wincing, Ian leaned over to retrieve his sword. "I need to check the grounds. They could still be here." "You're not in any shape to fight." "They're only flesh wounds." He flexed his bloody hand around the hilt of his sword. "Dougal,
Phineas, come with me!" The three bloodied warriors dashed toward the woods. Connor lifted Gregori in his arms and strode back to Romatech, Radinka jogging alongside them.
Roman helped Howard Barr to his feet. "I can walk." Howard limped toward the front door with a slash in one leg. Shanna ran to Roman, still holding Constantine in her arms. Other than a few scrapes, Roman
looked fine. "Hurry back inside," Roman warned them. "There could be more explosions." In the distance, sirens wailed.
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Toni wondered how they would explain this to the police. She glanced around the parking lot. It wouldn't do to have swords or wooden stakes lying about. She spotted a black garbage bag on the ground next to a black Lexus.
She peeked inside. Video games? Had Gregori brought these to work? They were all brand-new and unopened.
"I'll take that." Dougal grabbed the bag and zoomed to the front door. "But--" Toni jumped when Ian suddenly appeared beside her. "What's the deal with the sack of toys?"
"A secret Santa thing." Ian ushered her toward the front door. "The woods are clear, but we could tell where they'd been hiding." "Yeah, man." Phineas dashed up to them. "The freakin' cowards teleported away." Toni winced at the blood on Phineas's face. "You two need some medical attention."
"Roman and Laszlo can patch us up," Ian said. They entered the foyer and found everyone headed to a waiting room. Toni glanced down the hall and spotted Dougal with the garbage sack of video games. He was opening the locked door across from the nursery.
