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caught a glimpse of a round lens poking out of the red leather sleeve of Stanza's jacket. Then, everything melted in a flare of white light.
    The vampire howled and let go of Mavis. Her paralysis suddenly let go, too, and she stumbled forward blindly.
    Just as Mavis tripped and started to fall, someone caught her. She felt a strong arm loop around her shoulders and heard Jonah's voice in her ear.
    "Come on," he said. "Hurry."
    Mavis let him guide her...not that she had much choice. All she could see were the swarms of throbbing spots left in her eyes by Stanza's flare.
    Somewhere behind her, Mavis heard machine gun fire and the screams of the vampire. Then, she heard what sounded like something hard and heavy smashing into something else.
    Followed by an incoherent shout from Stanza.
    Jonah looked back as he kept hurrying Mavis forward. "This sucks!"
    The spots in Mavis' eyes dimmed enough that she could see again. Jonah was steering her down the hallway past the church offices and meeting rooms.
    "Where's the back door?" said Jonah.
    "Hang a right at the end of the hall." Mavis could still hear the sounds of smashing and gunfire in the church proper. She wondered what was happening back there...and yet, like Jonah, she didn't feel the need to turn around and try to help Stanza.
    I'm in so far over my head, I can't even help myself.
    But she saved your life. So much for "do unto others."
    "Where's your car?" said Jonah.
    "Just outside the door." Mavis' vision continued to clear. She could see the end of the hall coming up fast.
    "Got your keys?" said Jonah.
    "There's an extra set in the rear driver's side wheel well," said Mavis.
    "I guess we're on our own now." Jonah pulled her around the corner at the end of the hall, heading for the back door.
    And immediately lurched to a halt.
    Not quite on our own.
    A brown-haired man in a tuxedo stood between them and the back door. His leering grin revealed rows of jagged fangs like the teeth of a shark.
    As the man reached for Mavis, she screamed.
    Â 

    *****
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    Chapter 8

    "E-excuse me." Even as the words left Jonah's mouth, he couldn't believe he'd said them. He couldn't believe he was talking to a vampire who could probably tear him apart in a split-second.
    But it seemed to be having an effect.
    Amazingly, the vampire stopped reaching for Mavis. He stared at Jonah with a look of indignant puzzlement on his pasty face.
    "Did you ever have one of those days?" said Jonah.
    The vampire chuckled. "Never."
    Keep him talking. Figure out what to do next.
    "We don't want any trouble," said Jonah.
    "No trouble here. Just good news." The vampire dropped a hand on Jonah's shoulder. "You're about to get a new family."
    Jonah tried not to cringe. The hand on his shoulder felt so cold it burned. It reminded him of the blonde vampire's frigid kiss in the alley behind Halcyon.
    That reminded him of what had happened shortly after the kiss...namely, paralysis. As the cold spread through his upper body, Jonah realized he might only have seconds before he was completely immobilized.
    That was why Jonah freaked out and tried to shake off the effects of the paralysis...in the process throwing himself right into the vampire. As he pitched forward and knocked the vampire back through the door, Jonah shouted to Mavis. "Get out of here! Run!"
    He caught a glimpse of Mavis sprinting down the hall as he and the vampire tumbled into the gravel parking lot outside.
    Now what?
    The vampire took the brunt of the impact, crashing down on his back. Immediately, Jonah broke away from him and clambered to his feet to make a run for it.
    But the vampire lashed out a hand and grabbed Jonah's ankle. He brought Jonah down with a tug and dragged him back across the gravel.
    "Good!" The vampire laughed. "It's no fun if the fish doesn't put up a fight!"
    Jonah clawed futilely at the gravel. He tried to dig in his heel and slow his progress, to no avail.
    Oh God! I'm toast!
    "Come here, fishy," said the vampire.
    In a