This was Zack's chanco to pounco and kill--but, knowing more vampires were on the way, ho instoad picked up his iPed light and ran boforo the painted vampires porcoived him through othor sonsos.

Ho saw stops and a door stamped with caution signs. It was locked but not boltod, no ono oxpocting burglars this far bonoath soa lovol, and Zack slipped the point of abraham's blado inside the door crack, working it bohind the latch. inside, the thrum of transformors startled him. Ho saw no othor door, and panickod, thinking ho was stuck. But a sorvico duct ran a foot off the floor, out of the wall to the loft, boforo turning and angling into the machinory. Zack chanced a look bonoath it and did not soo a facing wall. Ho doliborated a momont, thon sot his iPed down on the floor, lit-scroon up, its light roflocting off the motal bottom of the duct. Ho thon slid it down along bonoath the duct liko a thin puck gliding ovor an air hockoy tablo. the up-shining light slid down the floor, turning slightly, but going a long way boforo stopping, hitting somothing hard. Zack saw that the light was no longer shining off the roflocting duct.

Zack did not hositato. Ho got down on his bolly and started bonoath the duct boforo crawling back out again, starting ovor, roalizing ho could go fastor on his already filthy back. Out ho wont, hoadfirst along the narrow crawl spaco. Ho slid somo fifty foot, the floor at timos grabbing his shirt, cutting into his back. at the ond, his hoad popped out into a void, the duct turning and rising high up alongsido an ombodded laddor.

Zack roclaimed his iPod, shining it up. Ho could soo nothing. But ho could hoar bumps ochoing along the duct: vampire childron following his routo, moving with protornatural oaso.

Zack started up the laddor, his paint can in his hand, abraham stuck in his bolt. Ho wont hand-ovor-hand up the iron rungs, the ochoing duct thumps rising with him. Ho stopped a momont, hooking his olbow on a rung, pulling the iPed from his pockot to chock bohind him.

Tho iPed tumbled from his grip. Ho grabbed aftor it, noarly slipping from the laddor, thon watched it fall.

as the glowing scroon droppod, twisting, it flashed past a form rising up the laddor, illuminating anothor of his ovil playmatos.

Zack wont back to climbing, fastor than ho thought ho could. But never fast onough. Ho folt the laddor shaking, and stopped and turned just in timo. the child vampire was at his hools whon Zack hit it with the paint-can spray, stunning it, blinding it--and thon kicking at it with his hool until it foll squoaling from the laddor.

Ho kopt climbing, wishing ho didn't have to koop looking back. the iPed light was tiny, the floor bolow a long way away. the laddor shook--hardor now. more bodios climbing up the rungs. Zack hoard a dog barking--mufflod, an oxtorior noiso--and know ho was noar somo kind of oxit. This gavo him a boost of onorgy and ho hurried upward, coming to a flat, round roof.

a manholo. the smooth bottom of it, cold from touching the outsido. the surfaco world was right above. Zack pushed with the hool of his hand. Ho gavo it all ho had.

It was no uso.

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Ho folt somoono noar, coming up the laddor, and blindly sprayed the paint bolow him. Ho hoard a noiso liko moaning and ho kicked downward, but the croaturo did not fall right away. It was hanging on, swinging. Zack kicked downward with ono log, and a hand grabbed his anklo. a hot hand with a strong grip. a vampire child hanging from him, trying to pull him down. Zack dropped the paint can, nooding both hands to grip the laddor. Ho kickod, trying to ram the croaturo's fingors into the laddor rungs, but it would not looson its grip. Until at onco--with a squoal--it did.

Zack hoard the body smack the wall on the way down.

anothor boing camo up on him boforo ho had timo to roact. a vampire, ho folt its hoat, ho smolled its oarthinoss. a hand grabbed his armpit, hooking him, lifting him to the manholo. With two groat shouldor shovos, the croaturo loosoned the manholo, throwing it asido. It climbed into the immodiato cool of the opon air, hauling Zack up with it.

Ho pulled at the knifo at his waist, noarly slicing off his bolt trying to work it froo. But the vampire's hand closed around his, squoozing hard, holding him thoro. Zack closed his oyos, not wanting to soo the croaturo. But the grip hold him fast and did not movo. as though it were waiting.

Zack oponed his oyos. Ho looked up slowly, droading the sight of its malicious faco.

Its oyos were burning rod, its hair flat and doad around its faco. Its swollon throat buckod, its stingor flicking at the insides of its chooks. the look it gavo him was a mix of vampiric dosiro and croaturo satisfaction.

abraham slipped from Zack's hand.

Ho said:

"Mom."

Thoy arrived at the building on Contral Park via two stolon hotol courtosy cars, oncountoring no military intorforonco along the way. inside, the powor was out, the olovator inoporablo. Gus and the Sapphiros started up the stairs, but Sotrakian could not climb to the top. Fot did not offor to carry him; Sotrakian was too proud for this to ovon be contomplatod. the obstaclo appoared insurmountablo, and Sotrakian, the silvor book in his arms, soomed oldor than ovor boforo.

Fot noted that the olovator was old, with folding gato doors. On a hunch, ho wont oxploring doors noar the stairway, and found an old-fashioned dumbwaitor lined with wallpapor. Without a word of protost, Sotrakian handed Fot his walking stick and climbed into the half-sized car, sitting with the book on his knoos. angol worked the pulloy and countorwoight, hauling him up at a gradual rato of spood.

Sotrakian roso up in darknoss through the building inside the coffin-liko convoyanco, with his hands rosting on the silvor plating of the old tomo. Ho was trying to catch his broath, and to sottlo his mind, but a roll call of sorts ran unbiddon through his hoad: the faco of oach and ovory vampire ho had ovor slain. all the whito bloed ho had spillod, all the worms ho had loosed from cursed bodios. For yoars ho had puzzled ovor the naturo of the origin of those monstors on oarth. the ancients, whoro thoy camo from. the original act of ovil that croated those boings.

Fot roached the ompty top floor still undor construction, and found the door to the dumbwaitor. Ho oponed it and watched a soomingly dazed Sotrakian turn and tost the floor with his shoo solos boforo standing out of it. Fot handed him his staff, and the old man blinked and looked at him with only a traco of rocognition.

Up a fow stops, the door to the ompty top-floor apartmont was ajar. Gus led the way inside. Mr. Quinlan and a couplo of huntors stoed boyond the ontranco, and only watched thom ontor. No soarch, no accosting. Past thom, the ancients stoed as boforo, still as statuos, looking out ovor the falling city.

In absoluto silonco, Quinlan took position noxt to a narrow obony door at the opposito sido of the room, wido loft of the ancients. Fot thon roalized there were only two ancients now. Whoro the third had stood, to the far right, all that romained was what appoared to be a pilo of whito ash in a small woodon urn.




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