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you deserve. And you will do nothing. If I see one bruise, one scrape, hear one cry ...” The human was definitely purple now, and his eyes rolled in terror. “... You are dead. I will take my time killing you, and then I will see to it that you are never found. Do you understand?”
    He released his grip, letting the human fall. Ronnie staggered, gasping until he managed to wheeze, “Yeah! Yeah, I won’t touch her again. I swear!”
    Coward, David thought in satisfaction. There will be no more trouble from this one.
    In the distance, sirens wailed, drawing closer. “Now. You will confess to the police exactly what you did to your wife and child.” David displayed his fangs again. Ronnie stared at him with hypnotized terror. “Make sure they lock you away—away from me.”
    “Yeah.” Ronnie blinked at him and sidled away. “I’ll tell ’em everything.”
    THREE
    Satisfied that the human was suitably cowed, David caught his arm and hauled him back into the apartment. Eva looked up when he entered, as she knelt next to Shelly. Terry crouched beside his mother in a small, miserable knot.
    David dragged Ronnie over to them by one arm. “Apologize to your wife, and tell her that she will come to no more harm at your hands.”
    The man licked his lips. “I’m ... uh, sorry, Shelly. I shouldn’t have hit you.”
    “And?” David prompted, his tone cold and warning.
    Ronnie’s eyes rolled toward him, and he blanched. “And if—when!—when you go ... I ain’t gonna hurt you.”
    Shelly blinked at him in dizzy surprise. “Uh. Okay.”
    Grimly satisfied, David hustled Ronnie to the bedroom, shoved him inside, and slammed the door.
    As he returned to the kitchen, he heard Shelly tell Eva, “I guess you’re right. We’ll go to the shelter.” She sounded tired and depressed. “I can’t let him go on hurting Terry.”
    David smiled at her carefully, trying not to show his fangs. He did not want to frighten the human or her child. “That is wise.”

    Belle cast the shimmering magical gate in the center of Davon’s living room. The doctor stared at the swirling portal with eyes gone wide and dark. “And this thing leads to another dimension?”
    “Right,” she said patiently, beginning the spiel she’d repeated until she could recite it in her sleep. “It leads to the Mageverse. That’s an alternate dimension where magic is one of the universal forces. We all draw our power from it. Now that you’re Magekind, you’ll need to live there at least part of the time in order to survive.”
    “So I’m supposed to just walk through this ... door?” He eyed the gate dubiously.
    “Yep. Want me to go first?”
    He shot her a cool look, his manhood evidently offended. “That’s not necessary.” Davon squared his broad shoulders and stepped through the gate.
    Smiling faintly, Belle followed to find him standing on the other side, staring around in awe. All around them, the city of Avalon lay sprawled under the star-flecked night sky. Castles, mansions, and chвteaus glowed with magic, their high stone towers reaching for the quarter moon. Magekind witches and vampires wandered the cobblestone streets, some in twenty-first-century jeans and shirts, others in medieval velvet glittering with gems. A few wore garb from other times and countries: kimonos, saris, flowing robes in shimmering silk, even feathers or fur or leather. It all depended on the wearer’s magical whims.
    Belle watched Davon as he turned in a slow circle, his lips parted in astonishment at the sheer, exuberant beauty of the ancient city. “And this is where the Magekind lives?” he asked at last. “Including King Arthur?”
    “He’s not a king anymore, but yeah.” Deciding he’d had enough time to sightsee, she caught him by the arm and turned him toward a sprawling Mediterranean villa with walls of cream stone and tall, arched windows. “You’ll be staying here. I call it Joyous Guard ...”
    He looked at her. “After