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chatting about the upcoming meeting with the vampire prince and studying maps of the city. Andreas and his companions had located Sebastian’s Court, and someone had drawn a map with directions. A note from Andreas suggested they should be ready to leave by sundown.
    “They won’t be up for hours yet,” Ari said, picking up the map. “I’d like to check out this place. Get my bearings.”
    “Good idea.” Russell jumped up. “I’ll go with you.” He paused as if suddenly remembering someone needed to stay behind. “Unless you’d rather I stay here.” He looked at Lilith.
    She gave him an indulgent look from her relaxed pose on the couch and put her feet on the coffee table. “Fine by me. I’ll watch the sleepers. I’d rather have you two out of here than pacing all day long.”
    Russell gave his wife a sheepish look, but joined Ari in plotting the route on the city map. Fifteen minutes later they were out of the hotel and hailing a cab. As they road in the taxi, Ari noted city landmarks that would mark there way if they had to get in and out in a hurry. Just in case. Exiting their ride several blocks from the vampire compound, they continued on foot.
    The entrance to Sebastian’s court masqueraded as an abandoned storefront. Vamps always seemed to pick isolated areas, probably a reaction to being hunted with stakes for thousands of years. Choosing a vacant second-story room in a building across the street, Ari and Russell settled in to watch.
    According to Andreas’s notes, Sebastian’s compound was dug under the basement of the former garment factory behind the defunct clothing outlet. Although Ari didn’t see any signs of life right away, she knew the area would be heavily guarded. Andreas’s status as the visiting representative from another vampire court was the only thing that would get their group beyond the front door. They watched the adjacent buildings in the area for the next half hour.
    “Sniper,” Ari said, nodding toward a building on the left.
    “Yeah,” Russell acknowledged. “There’s a second one behind the building with the girlie sign.”
    “I see him. They’re both wolves.”
    They waited another ten minutes. Finally satisfied she’d seen all there was to see and that they’d successfully whittled down two hours of waiting time, Ari motioned to Russell. They exited into the alley behind them and returned to their hotel.
     
    * * *
     
    Andreas appeared by mid-afternoon, strolling in, wearing his usual Armani casuals—black T-shirt, black jeans. The slight flush to his skin indicated that he’d already had his bag of blood for the day. He smiled when she told him about the surveillance trip.
    “Sebastian knows we are here. I called him before dawn. We are invited to his compound at eight o’clock.”
    She told him about the snipers.
    “Not surprising. There will be more tonight.” He didn’t seem to think it was significant.
    Ari wished the meet was earlier. Her whole body was tense, and she wanted to get on with it. Russell had resorted to some shoot-’em-up game on the laptop. Lilith had caught their edginess and was cleaning her guns. For the third time. They all knew the dangers of walking into any unfamiliar vampire court, especially one with a prince noted for his unpredictable violence.
    Ari kept thinking of her prior visit. Sebastian had turned his vampiric power on her and attempted to destroy her mental defenses. At the last moment, her magic had formed an inner firewall, stopping the invasion, but it had been close and not an experience she wanted to repeat.
    Sitting and waiting added to the tension.
    By 7:00, they’d given up any pretense of normal activities, like reading or eating or watching TV, and were merely killing time. Lilith had been filing her nails for the last half hour. The vamps were up, darkness had fallen outside, and still they waited. The other vampires had dined on bottled blood they’d brought with them, a hassle to get through airport