Ana Lyudmila was not a music lover, apparently. She was looking bored as she sat on the end of a bench at one of the booths close to the front door. I could see her over Mark’s shoulder. Thalia, who was about half Ana Lyudmila’s size, sidled up to her and silently offered a tray laden with more drinks. Ana Lyudmila nodded graciously, selected one, and took a big swallow. After a second in which her expression flashed absolute horror, she crumpled. Thalia caught the bottle as it fell from Ana Lyudmila’s fingers. The lethal and ancient vampire silently shoved the limp body farther into the booth and turned to look at the stage, standing so as to block the sprawl of Ana Lyudmila’s legs. The whole episode took less than thirty seconds. I had no idea what had been in the drink; some form of liquid silver? Was that possible? That little subplan had been contingent on one of the vamps being out of the line of sight of the others, and fortunately for us it had paid off.

One down. We wanted to take out as many as possible before the fighting even started.

Palomino, whose whitish hair and lovely golden skin made her a standout, worked her way close to Antonio by casual increments. She caught Antonio’s eye and she smiled, but she was careful not to overdo it.

My purse was on the floor in the tiny space between my chair and Eric’s. I dipped my hand down into its open mouth and withdrew a very sharp stake. I pressed it into Eric’s waiting hand. After a second of leaning on his shoulder to cover the move, I eased upright to give him room.

Maxwell Lee, who’d been standing by the door back to the offices, took off his suit coat and folded it carefully. I appreciated his clothes care, but it was like a signal he was about to take action. He seemed to realize it, because he settled on the edge of a booth after that.

While Bubba stuck to ballad-type songs he was entrancing, but for his next number he’d picked “Jailhouse Rock,” and somehow a tinge of sadness seemed to wash over the performance. Though the transition to vampirism had eased all of his infirmities, he’d still died in poor physical condition, and he still bore the marks of age. Now that he was singing a dancing number, the effect was slightly pathetic. I saw the little audience begin to lose their engrossment in the performance.

Switching the tone was a mistake, but one we couldn’t have foreseen.