Death's Mistress

Chapter One There was no sign on the abandoned church, but someone had scribbled "Let us Prey" above the main doors. As a Catholic, I didn't approve. As someone bent on doing exactly that, it seemed oddly appropriate. I pushed open the heavy wooden doors and went in. It looked like I'd guessed right in going with office chic when I'd gotten ready for the evening. There were a minority of Goths and some tourist types in the church-turned-nightclub, but most of the crowd seemed to be composed of those recently released from corporate hell. I fit in well enough, in a blue silk tank top I sweated through within five minutes and a short black skirt. The tank matched the new streaks in my short brown hair; the skirt matched my eyes. I got a beer at the bar and wandered around, looking for trouble. It didn't take long to find it. The club was populated mostly by humans, but it was owned by a vampire. A group of the fashionable undead showed up every night for the all-you-can-eat buffet,and from the look of things, the owner was dining early. He had a pretty brunette in a corner, his hand up her skirt and his fangs in her throat. That was frowned upon by the Vampire Senate, the ruling body for North American vampires, who preferred feedings to be kept nice and subtle. But then, this guy had already proven he wasn't too concerned about the Senate's point of view about a lot of things. That was why I was here. They intended to teach a lesson, and to make it memorable. The woman was facing out toward the crowd, and by the time I reached them, he'd managed to get her dress open all the way down. She wasn't wearing much underneath, unless you counted the scrap of black lace he had his hand inside. He did something that caused a quick, indrawn breath and a helpless shift of her hips. One of the bystanders laughed. There were a dozen of them, all vampires, and at least a few were masters. I'd hoped to catch him alone, or at worst with two or three others. I hadn't planned on the

Karen Chance has lived in France, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, but always comes back to America. She currently lives in Central Florida, the home of make-believe, which may explain a lot.