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Alec’s life.”
    “Yes.” Eiji bowed his head. “It was an honorable death.”
    Cronin looked at him. “Mikka said he touched the key. Before he died, that’s what he told Alec.”
    “And that it had already started,” Jodis added. “He said it was not one, but both. Do you think it’s possible?”
    Cronin sighed and nodded. “I have no reason to doubt Mikka. He was nothing but loyal.”
    Eiji nodded also. “It means the rumors are true. We’ve heard the rumblings and seen the signs. There is a war coming, my friend. Maybe the biggest yet. Mikka said it was both. The Illyrians and the Egyptians, Cronin. We cannot fight them both.”
    The three vampires stared at each other in a long, solemn silence.
    Finally Cronin spoke. “We need to find the key.”
     
    * * * *
     
    It was agreed that Cronin should feed. He was reluctant to leave Alec, even as he slept, but he also couldn’t risk becoming thirsty in his presence. Cronin had spent a millennia around humans, and his self-control was one of his strengths. But Alec was different… he invoked a different kind of thirst in Cronin, a hunger. So being well-fed was paramount.
    He stood at the closed door, listening to the steady heartbeat on the other side.
    “Go,” Jodis urged him. “We will keep him safe.”
    Cronin gave a resigned sigh and nodded. “Want me to bring you back something?” he asked with a smile. “I’m thinking French.”
    Jodis chuckled. “No, thanks. We’ll head out after nightfall. I don’t think Alec would appreciate our version of takeout.”
    Jodis and Eiji were limited to feeding at night—being unable to travel in the day—and Cronin had returned on many occasions bringing “food” back with him. He had the power of leaping, so it literally only took minutes for him to disappear to any country in the world where it was night and return with a somewhat bewildered human for Jodis and Eiji to feed upon. He could then leap to a different country, taking the drained human with him to dispose of.
    No witnesses, no evidence.
    “No, I guess he wouldn’t,” Cronin agreed. He refused to think of how Alec would perceive his dietary habits. Alec was a cop, no less, and no doubt believed murder was the grandest deal breaker…
    “Go feed, Cronin,” Jodis said. “Bon appétit.”
    Cronin gave her a half smirk, then disappeared.
    He found it difficult to concentrate. The distance and time away from Alec felt like lead in his gut, but he leapt to an abandoned alley in Paris. The night was darkened with a color that did nothing to impede his sight and chilled with an air he acclimatized to quickly. Sometimes he would walk the streets, feeling the life in the city around him, or catch up with other vampires and discuss issues in their world.
    But tonight he wasted no time. Cronin waited for just a moment, listening with his impeccable vampire hearing for the familiar conversation he sought.
    He waited for the right words to slink through the air. Those words…
    He didn’t have to wait long. He never did.
    He listened as the would-be attacker struck up a conversation with a woman as she walked down the dark street alone. She ignored him at first, hurrying along, quickly deducing that the man wanted neither the time, nor a cigarette…
    The woman begged for him to leave her alone, and when he grabbed her arm, dragged her into the alley, and pushed her to the ground, she begged for her life. Cronin didn’t really care about the life or death of humans, per se… but not like that. It was not supposed to be like that…
    Half a second later, all the woman would have heard was a whispered “Run” and the weight of the would-be rapist was gone.
    Cronin carried the putrid man to the rooftop of a secluded and derelict building. A fitting end, he thought. The man hadn’t screamed, even as his confusion gave way to fear. Cronin could see the realization in the man’s eyes, the usual look of shock and horror.
    Cronin didn’t bother with