“My clothes!” Eve yelped, and grabbed a double armful of hangers, then ran to Michael’s room to dump them in a pile.

“Yeah, way to stay focused, Eve!” Shane yelled. He had the tap going in the bath, and seconds later he was back, dragging the soaking wet bundle. “Stay back.”

He kicked open the door, and behind it Claire saw fire licking from the curtains up toward the ceiling. Her bed was on fire, too. It looked like that was where Monica had started it, since it was mostly in flames.

“Be careful!” she yelled, and hesitated to watch as Shane yanked the curtains down, threw the wet comforter over the bed, and began stomping down flames.

“Don’t just stand there!” he said. “Blankets! Towels! Water! Move!”

She dashed off.

16

The whole house smelled like smoke and burned mattress, but on the whole, it could have been a lot worse. Claire’s room was a mess, and her bed and curtains were a dead loss. Scorches on the floor and smoke damage on the ceiling.

Still.

Shane dumped more water on the mattress, which was already a sodden mess, and collapsed against the wall next to Claire and Eve.

“They’ve got to be wondering why we’re not all screaming and burning by now,” Eve said. “I mean, logically.”

“Go look.”

“You go look. I’ve had a tough night.”

Claire sighed, got up, and went to the unbroken window at the far end of the room. She couldn’t see anything. No vampires, obviously, since the sun was blazing in the sky by now, but no human flunkies, either. “Maybe they’re all out front,” she said.

In the silence, she distinctly heard…the doorbell.

“You’re kidding me,” Shane said. “Hey, did you order pizza? Good thinking. I’m starved.”

“I think you have brain damage,” Eve shot back.

“Yeah, because I’m starved.”

There was a crash from downstairs, and Shane stopped smiling. His eyes went dark and focused. “I guess this is it,” he said. “Sorry. Last stand at the Alamo.”

Eve hugged him and didn’t say a word. Claire walked over and hugged each of them in turn, Shane last so she could spend more time doing it. There really wasn’t enough time, though, because she heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and she felt a strong chill sweep over her. Michael was with them. Maybe that was his version of a hug.

“Stay strong,” she heard Eve whisper in her ear. She nodded and took Eve’s hand. Shane stepped out in front, which was—she knew by now—just what Shane did. He picked up the baseball bat he’d retrieved from down the hall and got ready.

“There’s no need for that,” said a light, cool voice from the hallway. “You must be Shane. Hello. My name is Amelie.”