I was no more excited to hang around vampires than he was, but I realized it didn't scare me nearly as much as it once would have. Rose and her companions had given me a tough skin. I'd even been to the Moroi Royal Court, a place few Alchemists had ever visited. If I'd walked away from the heart of their civilization intact, I was certain I could handle whatever was inside this house. Admittedly, it would've been a little easier if Clarence's house didn't look so much like a creepy haunted manor from a horror movie.

We walked up to the door, presenting a united front in our stylish, formal Alchemist attire. Whatever his faults, Keith cleaned up well. He wore khaki pants with a white button-up shirt and navy silk tie. The shirt had short sleeves, though I doubted that was helping much in the heat. It was early September, and the temperature had been pushing ninety when I left my hotel. I was equally hot in a brown skirt, tights, and a cap-sleeved blouse scattered with tan flowers.

Belatedly, I realized we kind of matched.

Keith lifted his hand to knock at the door, but it opened before he could do anything. I flinched, a bit unnerved despite the assurances I'd just given myself.

The guy who opened the door looked just as surprised to see us. He held a cigarette pack in one hand and appeared as though he'd been heading outside to smoke. He paused and gave us a once-over.

"So. Are you guys here to convert me or sell me siding?"

The disarming comment was enough to help me shake off my anxiety. The speaker was a Moroi guy, a little older than me, with dark brown hair that had undoubtedly been painstakingly styled to look messy. Unlike Keith's ridiculously over-gelled attempts, this guy had actually done it in a way that looked good. Like all Moroi, he was pale and had a tall, lean build. Emerald green eyes studied us from a face that could have been sculpted by one of the classical artists I so admired. Shocked, I dismissed the comparison as soon as it popped into my head. This was a vampire, after all. It was ridiculous to admire him the way I would some hot human guy.

"Mr. Ivashkov," I said politely. "It's nice to see you again."

He frowned and studied me from his greater height. "I know you. How do I know you?"

"We - " I started to say "met" but realized that wasn't quite right since we hadn't been formally introduced the last time I had seen him. He'd simply been present when Stanton and I had been hauled to the Moroi Court for questioning. "We ran into each other last month. At your Court."

Recognition lit his eyes. "Right. The Alchemist." He thought for a moment and then surprised me when he pulled up my name. With everything else that had been going on when I was at the Moroi Court, I hadn't expected to make an impression. "Sydney Sage."

I nodded, trying not to look flustered at the recognition. Then I realized Keith had frozen up beside me. He'd claimed he could "handle" being around Moroi, but apparently, that meant staring gape-mouthed and not saying a word. Keeping a pleasant smile on, I said, "Keith, this is Adrian Ivashkov.

Adrian, this is my colleague, Keith Darnell."

Adrian held out his hand, but Keith didn't shake it. Whether that was because Keith was still shell-shocked or because he simply didn't want to touch a vampire, I couldn't say. Adrian didn't seem to mind. He dropped his hand and took out a lighter, stepping past us as he did. He nodded toward the doorway.

"They're waiting for you. Go on in." Adrian leaned close to Keith's ear and spoke in an ominous voice. "If. You. Dare." He poked Keith's shoulder and gave a "Muhahaha" kind of monster laugh.

Keith nearly leapt ten feet in the air. Adrian chuckled and strolled off down a garden path, lighting his cigarette as he walked. I glared after him - though it had been kind of funny - and nudged Keith toward the door. "Come on," I said. The coolness of air conditioning brushed against me.

If nothing else, Keith seemed to have come alive. "What was that about?" he demanded as we stepped into the house. "He nearly attacked me!"

I shut the door. "It was about you looking like an idiot. And he didn't do a thing to you. Could you have acted any more terrified? They know we don't like them, and you looked like you were ready to bolt."

Admittedly, I kind of liked seeing Keith caught off guard, but human solidarity left no question about which side I was on.

"I did not," argued Keith, though he was obviously embarrassed. We walked down a long hallway with dark wood floors and trim that seemed to absorb all light. "God, what is wrong with these people? Oh, I know. They aren't people."

"Hush," I said, a bit shocked at the vehemence in his voice. "They're right in there. Can't you hear them?"

Heavy French doors met us at the end of the hall. The glass was frosted and stained, obscuring what was inside, but a low murmur of voices could still be heard. I knocked on the door and waited until a voice called an entry. The anger on Keith's face vanished as the two of us exchanged brief, commiserating looks. This was it. The beginning.

We stepped through.

When I saw who was inside, I had to stop my jaw from dropping like Keith's had earlier.

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. I'd mocked Keith for being afraid around vampires and dhampirs, but now, face-to-face with a group of them, I suddenly felt trapped. The walls threatened to close in on me, and all I could think about were fangs and blood. My world reeled - and not just because of the group's size.

Abe Mazur was here.

Breathe, Sydney. Breathe, I told myself. It wasn't easy, though. Abe represented a thousand fears for me, a thousand entanglements I'd gotten myself into.

Slowly, my surroundings crystallized, and I regained control. Abe wasn't the only one here, after all, and I made myself focus on the others and ignore him.

Three other people sat in the room with him, two of whom I recognized. The unknown, an elderly Moroi with thinning hair and a big white mustache, had to be our host, Clarence.

"Sydney!" That was Jill Mastrano, her eyes lighting up with delight. I liked Jill, but I hadn't thought I'd made enough of an impression on the girl to warrant such a welcome. Jill almost looked like she would run up and hug me, and I prayed that she wouldn't. I didn't need Keith to see that. More importantly, I didn't need Keith reporting about that.

Beside Jill was a dhampir, one I knew in the same way I knew Adrian - that is, I'd seen him but had never been introduced. Eddie Castile had also been present when I was questioned at the Royal Court and, if memory served, had been in some trouble of his own. For all intents and purposes, he looked human, with an athletic body and face that had spent a lot of time in the sun. His hair was a sandy brown, and his hazel eyes regarded me and Keith in a friendly - but wary - way. That's how it was with guardians. They were always on alert, always watching for the next threat. In some ways, I found it reassuring.