Chapter 26

Everybody except Mary. Her life refused to go back to normal.

The fire damage in her mother’s home was too great to be repaired, and so Georgia had been living with her. For a short time, the hysteria spurned by the vampires’ attacks drove everybody to distraction and made race relations in the city unbelievably tense. Hal began teaching a class every other night in self-defense against demons. He often asked her to be there, and she felt like a fraud. Sure, she could fight off vampires. She could even stake vampires. But she couldn’t stop thinking about them.

Well, one.

Mary knew where he lived, if she really wanted to see him. But they hadn’t made any plans to see each other again, and she had snuck away while he was asleep. She thought he would turn up, but he didn’t. Which was probably for the best, because she didn’t have time to be carrying on an affair with an evil vampire.

Even if she didn’t think he was completely evil. Even if she couldn’t stop dreaming about him.