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dark eyes were wild, and he looked… afraid?
    “Cronin,” Alec whispered. “What is it?”
    He shook his head. “We need to leave. Now.”
    No one argued. And for one long beat, Alec thought Cronin might leap them in full public view. He paused, then all but dragged Alec by the hand into the nearest darkened side street. Eiji and Jodis followed like Cronin’s shadow, then he spun on his heel and the four of them disappeared.
    * * * *
    Cronin’s New York City apartment was brightly lit, making Alec blink back the glare, and their feet had no sooner hit the ground before Jodis and Eiji swarmed around protectively.
    “Cronin!” they said in unison.
    “What is it?” Jodis asked.
    “Tell us, brother, what is wrong?” Eiji pleaded. He wasn’t smiling now.
    Cronin kept a tight hold on Alec, seemingly reluctant to let him go. “Something’s wrong,” Cronin said meekly. He swallowed hard and looked at Alec with apology in his eyes. “With me.”
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
     
    Alec’s first reaction was to laugh. Because seriously, Cronin was the most perfect specimen of man or vampire he’d ever met. How could anything be wrong with him?
    But Eiji and Jodis weren’t laughing. In fact, they looked deeply concerned, and Cronin’s expression matched theirs. And it was that look, that not-confident, not-assured, and un-knowing look on his face that spread a dull and heavy dread through Alec’s body.
    “Tell us,” Jodis said quickly.
    Cronin’s swallowed again. “I noticed it in England first. At the bar. There were several vampires there, most of them I recognized. Lars was there,” he said.
    “You called him by name, in the bar,” Alec interrupted. “I wondered who he was.”
    “He’s a vampire with the talent of pyrokinesis.”
    Alec blanched. “He can start fires with his mind ?”
    Cronin nodded. “He was standing at the bar, and when he looked at me, I swear I felt warmth”—he held out his hand—“in my fingers.”
    Jodis and Eiji both blinked, shocked.
    Cronin kept talking. “Then in Bolivia with Jorge. We stood in his house, and he started to see his visions and”—he looked at Jodis—“I saw flashes of light in my mind. No images or anything with form, just flashes.”
    Alec had noticed Cronin look a little stunned in that hut, though he’d just presumed it was from what Jorge was saying.
    Then he looked at Eiji. “When we leapt to Tokyo, I touched your hand. What I saw was….” He shook his head. “I think I saw what you see. A timeline of dots and patterns, how scientists read DNA. Just for the briefest moment.”
    Now Eiji’s face was blank with shock. He nodded.
    “And just now on the street in Tokyo,” Cronin said. “We all smelled that vampire.”
    Jodis nodded woodenly. “Yes,” she whispered.
    “Well, I heard him,” Cronin said. “In my mind. I heard his thoughts.”
    Eiji was stunned, and after a long few seconds, he shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
    “Neither do I,” Cronin replied, his voice just a whisper. “It is as though I get glimpses of their talents. I can’t begin to explain it.”
    Jodis eyed him cautiously. “And what of my talent,” she said. “If I concentrate.”
    Cronin hissed, though it was Alec who pulled away. “Ow.” The three vampires looked at him questioningly as he rubbed the hand Cronin had been holding. “Uh, freezer burn.”
    A horrified looking Cronin put both his hands up. “ Nas duilghe na ghabhas cur ann an cainnt ,” Cronin whispered, shaking his head. His eyes were a sorry black. Alec knew when Cronin spoke Gaelic, his native Scottish tongue, it was straight from the heart. “I am more sorry than words can say. Alec, please.”
    Alec didn’t hesitate. He threw his arms around Cronin and pulled him tight against him. “Hey. Don’t apologize. It didn’t hurt.”
    When Alec looked over Cronin’s head to Jodis and Eiji, they both looked catatonic with shock. “We will find out what this is,” Alec said.