I peer up at the three-story building. As high as it is, I’ve got to get to the top. They must have a whole pile of Channelers by now.

Wiping my hands on the grass, I dodge a servant plowing for my face and jump onto the nearest drainpipe. I used to climb buildings all the time as a kid, one of the many acts that got me suspended from school. I can’t have completely lost my edge.

I scramble up the pipe, hand over hand, boot toes catching the edges of grooves between the sandstone bricks. I have to pause when my vision clouds over. My fingers feel weak, as if I’ve been grasping something for a long time. Maybe a Haze is inevitable, even when I can burn off excess Flame. I just want to see this through before I go all sex maniac.

I glance up from my intense concentration. The suit-clad vampire with his load has long since reached the top, but Radomir hangs off the brick, waiting for me. The humor in his pale eyes suggests I’ve gone mad.

“What?” I ask, annoyed.

“Why do you climb like a monkey? You are Anlu’kyr. Use your Flame.”

Use my Flame? How?

On that thought, the burning energy spirals through my limbs, flaring in my palms. I feel an urge to rest my hands on the brick. When I do, a strong force—a sense of Flame meeting Flame—suctions my palm to the wall. I let go of the pipe and rest my other hand on the brick. It holds like superglue till I decide to move it, then peels away with ease. My feet feel held to the brick by invisible steps. Whoa!

I can’t stop a grin breaking out on my face. When I check, Radomir’s expression reflects mine.

“Now you can chase us,” he says, waggling his pale brows.

The bloody shit’s playing with me.

He crawls away, long blond hair contrasting the deep black of his coat as it swings. I follow him, scuttling over the wall like a Marvel superhero. So fucking cool.

When I reach the top, I leap over a stone balustrade onto the flat, graveled roof. The vampires scatter on my arrival. The ones in suits blur away, jumping off the side of the building. The six remaining, all tall and lithe with pale, handsome faces, wear similar tunics to Radomir—rich black material edged with swirling silver.