A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

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instinct he possessed screamed at him to turn around and get the hell out of there but he kept going forward, one slow step at a time. This was the vampire's resting place, he was sure of it. He needed to get the lay of the land so he could find his way when he returned in the daylight with stake and mallet in hand, and there was no better time to scout around than now, when the vampire was away.

He was in the living quarters now. He glanced around quickly,then went through the door, felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the casket in the center of the room. Even though he'd known Dominic was a vampire, seeing the coffin made it all the more real.All the more frightening.

He looked around, noting there was only one way in, and one way out. And he was suddenly anxious to be out. Who knew how long the vampire would stay up at the house, or what he had done toTracy ?

His hand tightened around the flashlight. By damn, if that bloodsucker had hurt her… The thought died, unfinished, as all the candles in the room sprang to life.
Chapter 28

Standing in the doorway of his bedroom, Dominic bowed from the waist. "Good evening, Mr. Longstreet ."

Bryanswallowed past the lump of fear in his throat. He had been afraid before, he thought. There was that time when he'd been a kid and he got caught in a riptide. And the time he was in that car wreck. He'd been shit-scared when Petrina whisked him out of The Catacombs.And terrified when Kitana had bent him over her arm with all the strength of a pro linebacker and sank her fangs into his neck. But he had never, ever, been as afraid as he was now.

"One should notcome calling without an invitation," Dominic remarked quietly.

Bryantried to speak, but no words would come. And even if he'd been able to form the words, what could he say? He could feel the vampire moving through his mind, sifting his thoughts.

"Save for my best beloved one, no one who has unearthed my resting place has ever lived to tell of it."

Fear flowed throughBryan 's veins like ice water, horror so overpowering he was afraid he was going to disgrace himself by wetting his trousers. The vampire's eyes bored into his like burning bits of ice. Try as he might,Bryan could not drag his gaze away, could not stop looking into those hellishly red eyes. Sweat oozed from every pore, trickled down his neck, his back.

Please. The word formed in his mind, a desperate cry for mercy, but try as he might, he could not get the word past the lump in his throat. Couldn't do anything but stare into the vampire's depthless eyes and pray that death would come quickly.

"Did I not warn you to stay home after dark?" Dominic asked.
From somewhere deep inside,Bryan found the strength to nod. Dominic took a step forward. "You would have been wise to heed my advice."