Part 41 (2/2)

Falling to his knees, he stared in disbelief. His G.o.d could not let this be real; the Blessed Mother would whisper in the ear of Her Son to perform a miracle.

Jenn lay still as death.

Antonio placed his shaking hand on her chest. Her heart was barely beating. She must have drunk the elixir; otherwise she would surely be dead. Panic surged through him.

He made the sign of the cross over her, and then over himself. ”No. Te lo ruego.” No. I beg you. Antonio pleaded with G.o.d.

”Skye! Brujas!” he yelled, calling for the witches to come and heal her, save her.

Jenn's heartbeat was slower still, barely beating. Only a creature with enhanced senses would be able to tell she was still alive.

”Father, please, please,” he whispered. ”Please.”

There was only silence.

”Look,” Heather said, pointing at the courtyard from the balcony. Antonio de la Cruz was bent over someone on the ground. From where Heather stood, it looked almost as though he were feeding. ”Antonio escaped!”

Lucifer grunted. ”I'm not surprised. He's a magnificent vampire. What a waste.” He looked at Dantalion. ”Mesmerize him. Tell him to kill whoever that is.”

Dantalion showed his fangs as he nodded to indicate that he'd heard. At his side his vampiric dog chuffed and whined.

”Easily done,” he confirmed. Then he closed his eyes. ”Antonio,” he whispered, as softly as if he were murmuring in Antonio's ear. ”Antonio de la Cruz.”

Antonio's back stiffened. Then Heather saw who Antonio was going to kill.

”It's Jenn! My sister,” she cried. She burst into peals of laughter. ”I have to go watch this. I have to be there. Please, Lucifer?”

Lucifer kissed the top of her head, and then her cheek, and then her lips. She kissed him back, ardently, because she had learned very quickly that that was how to get what she wanted from him.

”We should convert Jennifer Leitner,” Dantalion said. ”The final irony.”

”Yes!” Heather cried. She kissed Lucifer again. ”Please?”

”Do it,” Lucifer said to Dantalion. Go on, then,” he told Heather. ”But be careful. I'll watch from here.”

Heather kissed Lucifer one more time and left in a blur. She didn't want to miss a moment of her sister's conversion.

She ran downstairs, leaping entire sections in her excitement. Then, when she was almost at the courtyard, she came to a halt. What was she thinking? She didn't want Jenn to become a vampire. Jenn was the older sister, the smart one, the brave one. The one who got to do everything. The one who left home to become a hunter while she, Heather, stayed at home.

She's the one who didn't save me.

Aurora held me prisoner for weeks, and Jenn didn't come. She doesn't deserve to become a vampire. But if I stop Antonio, will Lucifer be angry at me?

Another explosion from somewhere deep in the castle shook the ground, throwing her headlong down a flight of stone steps. It hurt, but it was fun, like a ride at Disneyland. She pulled herself up to her feet, glancing over the side of the staircase . . . and blinked.

Her parents were huddled together behind a pile of rubble. Her father was s.h.i.+elding her mother as magickal bat shapes flapped around their heads. Without another thought, Heather leaped off the stairs and landed beside them.

”Oh, my G.o.d,” her father said, his hands dropping from around her mom. Heather's mother went white at the sight of her, and her knees buckled. Without realizing what she was doing, Heather caught her, and her mother's arms went around her.

Now she'll freak, Heather thought, amused and yet somehow very nervous. But there was no need to worry about what they thought of her. These people weren't ”hers” anymore. They were humans. She had moved on. And besides, they had let her down very, very badly. Her father most of all.

She hated her father.

”Come, look,” she said, tugging at her mother's hand as Leslie Leitner burst into sobs.

”You're all right,” her mom said hoa.r.s.ely.

No, I'm not, Heather thought, but then she realized that of course her mom was right. In fact she was better than all right. She was a vampire.

She tugged her mother along. Her father-to whom she hadn't spoken-ran behind, trying to catch up. Heather remembered that humans couldn't move very quickly. She didn't want to drag her mother to death-she wanted her to see the fun!-so she slowed to what felt like a snail's pace.

”You'll like this, Daddy,” she said over her shoulder. ”It's what you always wanted.”

CASTLE BRAN.

THE SURVIVORS.

In their werewolf forms, Holgar and Viorica herded Skye away from the fighting. She had lost her radio, and this had been the fastest way to reach her. Holgar could tell that Skye didn't know what they wanted, but by his yips and soft growls he tried to make her understand that it was important. Skye's crown of mirrors reflected the explosions of mortar sh.e.l.ls against the castle wall. In the glittering squares he watched himself and Viorica transforming into their human shapes. They were wearing clothes, and Holgar smiled proudly at Skye as he completed his change.

Then his smile faded as Viorica spoke to him in Russian.

”It's time,” Viorica said. ”We have to do it now.”

Viorica reached into the jacket of her parka and pulled out a vial containing an amber liquid. Holgar did the same, except the liquid in his vial was blue.

”Crikey, Holgar, what's going on?” Skye asked. ”I thought I heard Antonio, and now you're here, and-”

<script>