"I found you a date." He stopped in his tracks and a gleam lit his eyes. "DoraLee?"

"Her mother."

He seemed to weigh the news. "Ah, h.e.l.l, that's close enough. What can I do you for?"

"I need to know how to get to Miller's Creek."

"Ain't much of a creek now on account of the drought a few years back. Kids even stopped going up there to park and started hanging out at the drive-in." He grinned. "Took my own missus up there way back when. That creek has seen it 's fair share of excitement over the years, let me tell you. It was the luckiest spot in town for half the young men around here. Many a boy became king out there." Elmer winked. "If you know what I mean."

My heartbeat shifted into overdrive and desperation swamped me. "That's what I'm counting on."

T his can't be right.

I stared at the directions Elmer had written down for me and then back at the barren stretch of earth flanked by a dense forest on three sides. The fourth was a thick wall of rock that shot up at least twenty feet to a flat stretch of land above. I drank in my surroundings once, twice, my senses absorbing everything, from the buzz of crickets to the musty smell of the trees.

According to the paper, I was standing on the bank of Miller 's Creek. The top date spot, according to the Lonely Fork Gazette.

Maybe ten years ago.

I stretched my imagination and struggled to picture a crystal clear flow of running water, a moonlit sky, a picturesque waterfall trickling over the towering cliff.

Make that fifty years.

I couldn't imagine this shroud of trees and dried-up patch of dirt luring any girl out of her panties, much less two girls at the very same time.

Still ...

Leaves and twigs crackled beneath my feet as I started to walk. I made several pa.s.ses around the area, looking for any place where a body might be stashed. A cave. An abandoned well. A freshly dug hole in the ground.

Nothing.

I ran my hand over the rock wall, searching for a hidden lever that might crack it open and reveal a secret room.

While I didn't watch much TV, I'd seen every Batman episode. For obvious reasons.

I'd just floated up a few feet to tug on a tree branch when I heard the desperate "Lil?"

My concentration broke and I almost crashed to the ground. My feet hit hard and I leaned over as pain bolted through me.

"Lil?" The voice was stronger now. More desperate.

I whirled and came face-to-face with Nina.

"You scared the c.r.a.p out of me."

She looked at me as if I'd grown two heads.

"Er, that is, you would have scared the c.r.a.p out of me if I weren't such a bada.s.s vampire who doesn't scare, period. What are you doing here?"

"I had to talk to someone." A sob punctuated her sentence. "I did it."

"Did what?"

I expected her to say she'd sucked Elmer dry or eaten the tomato facial or something equally awful. We're talking sobbing. "I called Rob to tell him that I love him."

"That's great."

"He didn't answer his phone." Her red-rimmed eyes met mine. "Laura Tanner did."

Oh, no.

"It was the worst moment of my afterlife."

I pulled her into a fierce hug and d.a.m.ned my brother a thousand times as sobs racked her body.

"I love him and he's off s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the Tanner triplets. He's probably biting them, too."

"I'm sure he wouldn't do that." But the truth was, I wasn't so sure. Rob had fangs and a p.e.n.i.s and he'd been drunk. The trio made for some stupid decisions. "He loves you. I know he does." At least that much was true. Rob did love Nina. He just didn't realize it.

And I wasn't so sure he ever would.

"Come on, let's get out of here. We'll go back to the motel and talk."

She pulled away to stare at me. "But you have to look for Esther."

"Trust me, I'm not having much luck."

"Sure you are," the deep voice rumbled through my head. "I just wouldn't cla.s.sify it as good luck."

I whirled to find Mordred standing directly behind me.

I swear, everyone was getting the jump on me these days.

He wore the same khakis and blue shirt, only they were streaked with something dark and red. My nostrils flared and hunger gripped me.

"One person's bad luck is another person's good luck. That's what they say, isn't it?"

"Actually, it's one person's trash is another person's treasure, but I guess the concept is the same."

"What's going on?" Nina's tears dried up and she took on a wary stance.

"Why don't you introduce me to your friend?"

"This is Mordred."

"The sonofab.i.t.c.h who stole Esther." She tried to launch into Super Vamp mode, but I caught her hand, my gaze fixed on the gun in Mordred's hand.

It wasn't a normal-looking gun. Rather, it had a large green canister attached to the top. A greenish liquid sloshed in the canister and the familiar scent of garlic p.r.i.c.kled my nostrils.

"Don't," I murmured.

"Wise advice." He winked at me. "Unfortunately, you're not half as good at taking advice as you are at dishing it out. You should have listened to Merlin." The surprise must have shown in my eyes because he added, "Yes, I know about your little run-in. In fact, I witnessed the entire thing. While I have to admit we didn't plan it, it still worked out nicely."

"He's in on this with you, isn't he?"

He didn't answer. He didn't have to.

His eyes danced with a dark, dangerous light. "I still can't believe you bought all that nonsense about fulfilling the ritual. Merlin could stop me right now if he wanted to."

"But he doesn't want to."

He smiled. "I have something he wants." He tapped his head. "I know the secret. The key to a successful ritual. He needs me."

When I didn't seem clued in, he added, "Merlin's a powerful sorcerer. The most powerful of our kind, but while he's immortal, he hasn't been able to stop the aging process. The white hair. The wrinkles. He's spent years trying to reverse the process with plain magic, but other than casting a very convincing allusion spell, he can't do anything real. Anything permanent. But I can."

"You're sacrificing Esther for him."

"Hardly." He chuckled, a frightening sound that stalled my heart in my chest. "I went to a lot of trouble to find Esther. I've spent a lot of time working with her, making sure I starve her just enough, making sure she feels just the right amount of pain to fulfill the ritual requirements. I'm not giving her up that easy. She 's mine." His gaze narrowed and he aimed the gun. "You're Merlin's sacrifice." He pulled the trigger.

The liquid hit me, dripping into my eyes, my mouth. The scent rushed into my nose and clogged my lungs. I tried to keep ahold of Nina, but she pulled free to cover her face with her hands as he turned the blast on her.

But it was too late.

She stiffened and stumbled backward while my own muscles clenched and jerked. I fell to my knees, my body jerking, fighting before the paralysis gripped me. I hit the dirt face-first. My heart slowed. My eyes closed.

And then I tumbled into a big black pit of nothing.

Never, ever drink wine in a box.

That was my first thought when I blinked. My head throbbed and my eyes felt gritty and heavy. I was surely nursing one h.e.l.lacious hangover thanks to the two gla.s.ses I'd downed at the nail salon- The thoughts skidded to a halt as I became acutely aware of the cold dirt floor beneath me and the ropes binding my hands and feet. The confrontation with Mordred came rushing back in an instant and I glanced at Nina, who lay a few feet away. She was trussed up, too, but she hadn't yet opened her eyes. Which meant the soft crying wasn't coming from her.

My gaze shifted to the right and the vampire that lay stretched out on a bloodstained table, her hands and feet tied at each of the four corners. Esther was naked, her skin raw and bleeding, and my heart hitched. Several strips of flesh had been cut from her legs in various patterns and draped over a long rack that hung on a nearby wall. She trembled, but no sound escaped her dried and cracked lips.

I sniffled and caught my bottom lip. The noise instantly stopped.

What?

I gathered my control and tried to slow my pounding heart. I needed to think. To get a grip and get the h.e.l.l out of here.

Here looked like the inside of a ma.s.sive cave and I guessed we were somewhere behind the stone wall that had once been the backdrop for the waterfall. A sliver of light snaked its way around a corner, illuminating a tunnel (the only visible way in or out), and I knew night had faded into day. Judging by the weariness gripping my limbs, I was guessing somewhere around midday.

Ritual day.

The realization struck just as I heard soft footsteps. Mordred appeared, an ancient-looking knife in his hands. He walked over to Esther and lifted one of her eyelids. She flinched and he seemed satisfied that she was conscious enough for what he had in mind.

He went to her right arm and started to cut. A scream ripped through the air and bounced off the walls.

I tugged against the ropes, but it was useless. "Leave her alone," I croaked.

"Jealous, are we?" He finished slicing the skin off her right arm and moved to her left. Once he 'd cut a matching piece, he walked over to the rack and draped them both next to the half dozen already on display.

"Don't worry," he said as he turned and headed for me. "You'll get your turn, too." He leaned over me and I braced myself for the pain. Instead, he grabbed a nearby rag and held it over my face.

I bucked once, twice, and then I was out again.

The next time I opened my eyes, the light in the tunnel had faded and the opening yawned pitch black. My throat felt tight and my eyes were watery. Instead of being tied together, my arms were above my head, my hands tied at each corner.

Uh-oh.

I lifted my head and glanced down. Sure enough, I was stretched out on my own table. My clothes were history, but I still had all my skin.

"We didn't want to start the party without you." It was Merlin who spoke this time. "The pain is part of the ritual, so you have to be conscious."

I turned and spotted him as he neared the table. I flashed some fang and growled. "Untie me or I'll rip your head off."

"You and what army?" He chuckled. "Speaking of army, knock, knock."

When I didn't say anything, he lifted the dreaded finger and pinched at the air. My arm tightened painfully, and I gave a loud cry and growled, "Who's there?"

"Tank."

Another pinch and pain ripped through my other arm. "T-tank who?"

"You're welcome." He started laughing then, the sound bouncing off the walls and pounding into my head.

I tugged at my wrist, desperate to get loose and yank his stupid Santa beard.

"You can stop fighting. This was meant to be, Miss Marchette. I knew it the moment I visited your office. You're determined.

Per sis tent. Vibrant." He smiled. "I could feel your life force and I knew then that it was fate. I didn't even have to kidnap you.

You followed me willingly. You even gave me the perfect alibi to explain your death."

"The videotape."

He smiled. "I'll tell them that you tried to interfere and I had no choice but to destroy you. With the taped evidence to back up my story, the BV Council won't be able to challenge my actions."

"What about Nina?" I struggled to catch a glimpse of my friend. She still lay in a heap in the corner, oblivious to everything.

"I'll say she got in the way. It won't be nearly as convincing as your death, but I'll have two eyewitnesses to vouch for me."

"Your men aren't here."

"They don't have to be. One spell and they'll say anything I want them to say. They'll believe it. She got in the way. I had no choice."