The vampire stood on the sidewalk in front of the house with the white picket fence. She didn't have to be inside to know what was happening. Her preternatural senses were so keen, she could almost picture the couple inside. The woman was mortal, young, and in love. The man was the vampire's own fledgling.

She had brought him across exactly a year ago. In all her long existence, she had only bestowed the Dark Gift on five other men. She had made them, used them, and forgotten them.

But this last one, Vince, there was something about him, something that kept him alive in her memory, and so she had decided to come and see how he was getting along in his new life.

Her mind connected with his. Come to me. It was not a request, but a command, one he could not ignore.

Smiling, she faded into the shadows and waited.

Come to me.

Vince frowned as a familiar voice whispered through the corridors of his mind. It was a voice he would never forget, one he was compelled to obey.

Cara frowned when he eased out of her embrace and rose from the sofa. "Where are you going?"

"I've got to go."

"Why? It's early."

"It's after midnight." He tried to fight the compulsion to leave, but it was useless. Leaning down, he kissed her. "I've got a customer bringing a car in early in the morning. I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

She looked up at him, her expression worried. "Is something wrong?"

"No, darlin'."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." He kissed her again. "Good night."

It was all he could do to keep from running out of the house toward the vampire who waited for him-

the vampire who had changed his life forever.

Once outside, he stood on the sidewalk and then, as if guided by an invisible hand, he walked down the street until he came to a small park.

The vampire was waiting for him on a park bench. She . smiled as he approached.

"Vincent. How well you look."

"What do you want?" She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her skin was like smooth porcelain; her hair was thick and black and fell to her hips in rippling waves. Her eyes were an amazing shade of green. Clad in a pair of skin-tight black pants and a wine-red sweater that outlined every curve, she looked sexy as hell.

"Is that any way to speak to me?" She spoke like a queen questioning a commoner and as she did so, he felt her power roll over him, sizzling through his veins like an electric shock. The hair prickled along his arms.

"I'm sorry." His tone was curt.

"Come, sit beside me."

He hesitated only a moment, certain that any refusal would only cause him more pain.

"So tell me," she said, "how are you getting on?"

"What do you care? You made me and dumped me."

"Mind your tongue!"

He bit back the sharp retort that rose in his mind.

She dragged her fingernails down his arm, leaving tiny furrows of blood behind. Her touch made him shiver. "I've thought of you often this past year."

"I've thought of you, too," he muttered darkly.

"I'm sure you have."

Her gaze bored into him. He had the distinct impression that she could see into his very soul, that she knew everything he had said and done in the past year, every thought that had crossed his mind, then and now.

Her fingers kneaded his biceps. "Is there anything you would like to ask me?"

"Your name, for a start."

She laughed softly. "You may call me Mara."

"I thought vampires had to sleep during the day. Why doesn't the sun render me powerless?"

"My blood is very old and very powerful," she explained. "The sun no longer has any effect on me, and since my blood now runs in your veins, you are able to be active during the day. In a year or two, the sun will have no power over you at all."

Vince felt a rush of excitement. If what she said was true, someday in the near future he would be able to return to his family and resume his old lifestyle. "What is it about thresholds? What power do they hold?"

She shrugged. "They have a built-in power all their own. Every home that has not been defiled is protected by that innate magic."

"Defiled how?"

"Homes where there has been foul play, murder, incest, or any kind of depravity. Such acts destroy the threshold, rendering it powerless."

Vince nodded. It made sense in an otherworldly sort of way. "How long have you been a vampire?"

"I was made when Cleopatra ruled Egypt." Seeing his frown, she added, "Sometime in 51 BC."

Vince swore in astonishment. These days, most people lived to be seventy-five or eighty. A few lived to be over a hundred. But to live for thousands of years... he shook his head. It was incredible. "Is the vampire who made you still living?"

"No."

"Am I the only vampire you've made?"

"No. There were five before you."

"Are they still alive?"

She made a vague gesture with her hand. "I don't know. I don't care."

"Then what are you doing here? I mean, if you didn't give a damn about them..."

She laughed softly. "Why do I care about you?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know. That's why I came." She frowned thoughtfully. "The woman inside. Cara. What is she to you?"

"How do you know her name?"

"I read it in her mind. She's in love with you. Are you in love with her?"

"Why ask? Can't you just read my thoughts?"

"If I wish, but conversation is more stimulating."

"Yes," he said. "I love her. Have you ever been in love?"

"Many times," she replied, her expression wistful. "But it never lasts. Mortals are such fragile creatures, and they live such a short time."

"The ones you made, were you in love with them?"

"No."

"Why did you bring them across?"

She shrugged. "It's been so long, I don't recall. Curiosity, I suppose. Or maybe boredom."

"Is that why you brought me across?" he asked bitterly. "Because you were bored?"

She laughed again, the sound soft and musical, like the chiming of silver bells on a summer day. "I'm afraid so."

Vince muttered an oath.

"You're not happy with your new state of being?"

Vince frowned into the distance. Was he happy as a vampire? There were things about his new lifestyle that he liked, but until she had told him he would soon be able to go out in the sun, he would have said that, all things considered, he would rather be mortal.

Out of curiosity, he asked, "Can you undo what you've done?"

"No. Only death can free you." She studied him dispassionately for a moment. "Would you like me to release you?"

"You'd destroy me?" he exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "Just like that?"

"If you wish."

"Damn, woman, you're one heartless..." He let the thought die, unfinished, at the warning look in her eyes.

"I don't want you to be unhappy," she said. "I'm not sure why. Come, spend the night with me."

"Is that a command?"

"Are you refusing me?" She looked suddenly like a child whose stocking was empty on Christmas morning.

"I'm sorry, but..."

"Your little mortal wouldn't like it." She finished his thought for him as she caressed his cheek. "Perhaps it was that streak of honor that first attracted me to you. Ah, well, I'll see you again," she said, and vanished from his sight.

Vince shook his head. If there was one thing he didn't need, it was another woman in his life.

Mara watched her fledgling get into his sleek black car and drive away. Sometimes she longed for the old days. Life had been simpler then, slower. There had been a charm and beauty to life in the long ago time that was missing today. She had seen so many changes in the eons since she had been made.

Occasionally, when the rush and noise of the world grew too great, she sought shelter in the arms of the earth. There, lost in the quiet darkness, she sometimes slept for hundreds of years. Each time, she emerged regenerated, only to find a new world awaiting her.

So many changes. Kingdoms rose and fell. New discoveries were made in the earth and in the heavens.

There were always wars in distant lands. Cures were found for old diseases while new ailments were constantly being discovered. Earthquakes, tidal waves, tornadoes, and floods reminded humanity of how frail and precarious their existence was. Airplanes flew higher, cars went faster. Mankind was constantly inventing new and better ways to destroy itself. Sometimes she wondered how mortals slept at night when their lives were in constant peril.

She shook her head. The only constant was change.

Her fledgling had changed, as well. Until Vince, she had not made a new vampire in over a thousand years. She was surprised at how powerful he had become in such a short time. Did he have any idea of just how invincible he was?

She thought of the young female inside the house and experienced a rush of unexpected jealousy. For a moment, she toyed with the idea of destroying the female. It would be all too easy. She could do it from here with no more than a thought, but to what end? Mortals lived such a short time, there was little satisfaction in depriving them of the few years they had.

Perhaps hunting for prey would dispel her melancholia. It had been years since she had needed to feed, but she was suddenly overcome with the urge to hunt, to hold a mortal in thrall, to feel the rapid beating of a fearful heart, to savor the warm sweet taste of life's elixir.

Leaving that part of the city, she sought a place to hunt. Though she had no fear of recriminations, old habits died hard. It had ever been her wont to find her prey among the poor and downtrodden. Should she decide to drain her victims dry, there would be no one to mourn their passing, no one to comment on their absence.

She had just turned down a seedy looking street when she realized there was another vampire nearby.

Curious, she sought him out. He was young in the life, compared to her; but then, compared to her, they were all little more than fledglings.

He came to an abrupt halt when he saw her, his eyes narrowing as he recognized her for what she was.

Mara plucked his name from his mind. "Roshan DeLongpre," she murmured. "I bid you good evening."

He bowed from the waist. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage, madam."

His voice was deep and rich, his manner respectful yet wary. She liked him immediately. "I am Mara."

Though he tried to hide it, his surprise was evident in the widening of his eyes and the sharp intake of his breath. "Like all of our kind, I have heard of you."

"Oh?" She took a step closer, noting his finely chiseled features, the strength of his jaw, the spread of his shoulders. "And what have you heard?"

"That you are truly immortal, and that the sun no longer holds any power over you." His gaze moved over her in frank admiration. "And that you are the most beautiful of women."

She smiled, pleased by the compliment and his obvious sincerity. "I take it you are the master of the city."

She had known it wasn't Vincent. He was too young in the life and too new to the area.

"I am."

"I am surprised you allow another into your domain."

"You speak of Cordova?"

She nodded.

"He is my daughter's friend."

Ah, she thought, the woman in the house. Cara. "How is it that you have a child?"

"We adopted her when she was an infant."

Mara digested that for a moment. "What was it like, raising a human child?"

"It was..." He searched for the right word. "Interesting."

She smiled, thinking that interesting was probably an understatement. "How did she feel, having vampires for parents?"

"Until recently, she didn't know. She was understandably upset when she found out."

"Yet she is in love with a vampire."

"She doesn't believe he's one of us."

"It should be... interesting... when she finds out the truth," Mara remarked with a faint smile. "Come, hunt with me."

"It would be my pleasure."

"And mine," she said, linking her arm with his. "I have not hunted with a companion in many years." She threw back her head and took a deep breath. "Do you smell it?" she asked, and he heard the underlying note of excitement in her voice, saw it in the predatory gleam in her extraordinary green eyes.

Roshan nodded. The scent of prey was in the air.

Mara was a skilled and ruthless hunter, but then, that was to be expected, Roshan thought with a wry grin, seeing as how she'd had thousands of years to perfect her skill.

She called her desired prey to her with a look, and because she was in the mood to hunt, she took only a taste from each of her chosen victims before offering them to Roshan.

There was nothing like it, he thought, the thrill of the hunt, the surge of power as you held your prey in your grasp, the thick, rich taste of their life's blood sliding over your tongue, the way it filled you with warmth and strength, the exhilarating sense of being invincible. In the last few years, he had hunted only when necessary and taken only what he needed to survive. But tonight, tonight they drank from dozens until even his prodigious thirst was quenched.

And then, to his surprise, Mara drew him into her arms. "Shh," she whispered, "don't be afraid. I want only a taste."

He would have refused, but he found himself powerless to resist. He stared into her eyes, eyes as deep and green as the Nile, sighed as her fangs pierced the skin of his neck just below his left ear. It had been a long time since anyone had drunk from him. He had forgotten what it was like, the heat of it, the sensual pleasure that bordered on ecstasy. And yet, even as he reveled in it, he felt the sharp prick of his conscience, certain that Brenna would not approve.

Mara licked the wound in his neck, then swept her hair aside, offering Roshan her throat. A thrill of anticipation ran down his spine. To drink from Mara was akin to drinking from the wellspring of eternal life.

With a shake of his head, he backed away from her. "No, I can't."

"Of course you can."

He shook his head again. It was bad enough that he had let her drink from him. To drink from her would be like betraying Brenna.

"Do not be so quick to refuse," Mara said. "I'm offering you more than you know."

"I don't understand."

"As you yourself said, the sun no longer has any power over me."

"You mean...?"

"Exactly. Once you have drunk from me, you will no longer be under its spell. You may even find that, after a year or so, you can walk in its light."

He pondered that a moment-to walk in the sun's light again, to feel its warmth on his face. Was it truly possible? "Why are you offering this to me?"

She lifted one slim shoulder and let it fall. "Consider it a gift in appreciation for your company this night."

"If my wife drinks from me, will she be affected the same way?"

"I should think so, though it may take longer."

It would be a miracle to walk in the light of day again, to no longer be rendered helpless each dawn.

Surely Brenna would understand! He knew how much she missed the brisk days of autumn and the warm halcyon days of summer.

Mara was watching him, waiting for his decision. Taking a deep breath, he reached for her.

She closed her eyes as he lowered his head. Her skin was smooth, cool to the touch. Her blood was like liquid fire on his tongue. He felt the power of it sing through every fiber and cell of his being. More, he thought, he wanted more. He wanted it all.

Enough!

Her voice rang out in his mind and he drew back, unable to resist her command.

"Forgive me," he murmured, horrified by what he had so desperately longed to do.

"There is nothing to forgive," she said, and he saw the understanding in her eyes.

"Thank you," he replied fervently, and then asked, "What of Vince? Is he able to walk in the sun's light?"

"Not yet, but soon. The sun does not render him powerless, though he must remain indoors, and at some point during the day he must rest. But as he grows older and stronger, the sun will have less power over him."

In a courtly gesture, Roshan took Mara's hand in his. He bowed over it, then kissed the back of her hand. "Again, my thanks."

"Take care of yourself, Roshan DeLongpre. There is evil in this city."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Can't you feel it?"

"Not as strongly as my wife. Do you know who or what it is?"

"No, only that it is nearby and growing stronger." She smiled at him, her green eyes glowing, and then she vanished from his sight.

He stood there for a long while, reliving all that had happened, all that Mara had told him, and then he went home, eager to tell Brenna of the night's events.

Brenna looked up from the book she was reading when Roshan entered the room. "What took you so long?"

"You won't believe this," he said, dropping down on the sofa beside her. "I ran into Mara."

"She's here, in the city?"

He nodded. "She asked me to go hunting with her."

"Oh?"

Roshan grinned. There was no mistaking the edge in his wife's voice or the jealousy in her eyes. "How could I refuse? But, Brenna, listen, she took my blood..."

"What?" Her eyes narrowed ominously.

"Hush, love, and listen..."

Brenna sprang to her feet. Hands fisted on her hips, she stared down at him. "How could you let her do that?"

"I didn't let her," he said curtly. "She wanted it and she took it." He took a deep breath. "Brenna, listen to me. She took my blood and she gave me hers." Even now, he couldn't believe it. "I can feel it inside me.

Brenna, you can't imagine the power!"

"You drank from her?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper. Between vampires, the sharing of blood was akin to making love.

"Brenna." Rising, he drew her into his arms. "Listen to me. She said the sun will no longer have any power over me and that I won't be rendered helpless during the day. That in a year or two it won't have any power over me at all. Do you know what that means?"

She stood stiff and unmoving in his arms, her eyes swimming with tears. "You betrayed me."

"Brenna, I did it for you. She said if I give you my blood, the day will come when you, too, will be able to walk in the sunlight. Think of it, love. You won't be trapped in the darkness anymore."

Brenna blinked at him, her brow furrowed. "I don't believe you."

"It's true. Read my mind if you don't believe me. You'll see that it's true." He caressed her cheek. "Think of it, love, to be able to walk in the sun again." He drew her down on the sofa once more and turned his head to the side. "Drink, love."

She hesitated a moment before she licked his skin, and then her fangs pierced his flesh. His blood was warm as it flowed over her tongue. She had tasted him before, but it was different now. She felt a sudden rush of power flood her being, felt her senses expand as never before.

Lifting her head, she gazed into her husband's eyes. And even though she knew it was only her imagination, she saw the sun shining there.