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desirable place to hang out. For humans. For immortals like himself, it was perfect. Down here, people
tended to ignore the strange and unusual. They minded their own business. Just tried to survive.
Twice Charmed came into view and Christian grinned at all the cars lining the street and filling up the
parking lot. Didn t mystical creatures have anything else to do? It wasn t even the weekend and the place
was packed. Christian eventually found a parking place, about as far away as possible.
As he walked up to the club, he saw Vlad pull into a parking space near the entrance. Christian ground
his teeth in irritation. How had he found a space so easily and so close?
Christian walked up to him as he got out of his car. Vlad locked the door and turned towards him with a
grin.
 Patience, my friend, patience. This time of night, people are coming and leaving all the time. You just
have to wait it out.
Christian grunted his reply as they walked into the club. The bouncer, a gargoyle they both knew, let
them in without question. With a quick nod, he waved them past.
 I don t have a lot of patience lately, Vlad.
 I noticed.
Vlad chuckled as amusement filled his eyes.
 Women. What can I say? It doesn t matter if they re mortal or immortal. They just seem to have this
way about them that drives men crazy. Sometimes in a good way, Vlad said grinning wolfishly.  Other
times in a damn frustrating way.
Christian scanned the room as they found a table and sat down. Most people were on the dance floor,
moving to the sound of the latest gothic rock band. If the air didn t crackle with immortal energy, this
place would seem like almost any other hot nightclub. But the aura was unmistakable. The majority of the
patrons here tonight were immortals or other mystical creatures.
 You asked me about The Light. After doing some research, I found the answer.
 Christian swung his interested gaze back to Vlad.
 And?
 And it seems our friend Bazhena has an ego bigger than we originally thought. Not only is she
determined to attract and kill men. She has decided that she wants to attract all men. Every single one of
them.
 What do you mean?
 She s found an ancient spell that s designed to make her the most desirable creature in the world. If she
succeeds, no one, human or immortal, will be able to resist her.
 Is that possible?
 According to the legend, yes. But first she must collect certain items to make the spell complete. One of
the most important items on that list is The Light.
Christian frowned in consternation.
 That brings me back to my original question. What is The Light ?
Vlad paused before answering.
 What? Impatience laced Christian s voice.
  The Light is a soul who is devoted to helping others, a person who can empathize with others, to the
point of almost knowing their thoughts. A person who has experienced pain and death and is determined
to save others from that pain, even at the risk of his or her own life. A person convinced that it s his or
her job to save the human race. In other words, a hero, or heroine.
 Alyssa! Christian hissed.
Vlad nodded his head slowly.
 Bazhena must have found out about Alyssa from her national tour and best selling book. When we ran
into her that first night at our office, she wasn t there to see us, as she claimed. She must have been
following Alyssa. It s her she s wanted all along. She fits the description completely.
 Is there only one Light? Surely other people fit that description.
 More than one Light exists. But, as you can imagine, they are in the minority. Bazhena must have just
decided to go for Alyssa because she had caught her attention. And once she saw Alyssa had a
connection to you, it probably made the pot sweeter for her. Acquire The Light and have her revenge on
you for leaving her, Vlad explained.
Christian s eyes narrowed dangerously.
 Bazhena will never have Alyssa. I won t allow it. She ll have to kill me first, Christian vowed.
 Do you have a plan? Vlad asked.
 Like I told you earlier, I had her where I wanted tonight. I almost killed her. A moment s hesitation cost
me that opportunity. But she escaped in a truly weakened state. Dammit! If I hadn t stayed to care for
Alyssa I know I could have killed her.
Vlad looked at Christian shrewdly.
  If you could go back now, knowing what you know, would you truly have left Alyssa alone and gone
after Bazhena?
Christian struggled within himself for a moment, then released a frustrated breath.
 No. That s become my bane. Alyssa means too much to me. She is my weakness.
 If you look deep inside yourself, my friend, you ll realize that she is so much more to you than that.
She s also your strength.
Christian didn t want to face that issue right now. He would handle this as he d handled everything in the
past. Analyzing the issue step-by-step, never getting ahead of himself. At the moment, Bazhena was the
problem he needed to deal with.
 Bazhena is still in a weakened state. Dawn is close approaching. I can t see her doing anything else until
the next nightfall. Even then, she may not be at her full power. But I still wouldn t underestimate her. She
left a personalized message for me today at Alyssa s condo.
Vlad s eyes narrowed dangerously and fury changed their color to red. Christian knew just how much
he hated Bazhena.
 What kind of message? Vlad demanded.
Christian explained about the head on Alyssa s door and the significance of Bazhena leaving it there.
 She is insane. Even for a vamp. Do you have a plan?
 Yes, but for it to work, I ll need you to watch over Alyssa tomorrow night at her last speech. Even
though I ll be close to both of you at all times, I don t trust her with anyone else.
Vlad agreed.
 I ll be there. What are you going to do?
Christian laid out his plan to Vlad.
 It sounds good. But I m bringing backup with me, just in case. I want to end Bazhena s existence as
much as you do. Nothing is going to get in the way of that this time, Vlad promised.
 I have no problem with that. Just keep them downwind of Bazhena. I don t want her thinking anything
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