“Only rumors that sounded so outlandish, I passed them off as mere traveler’s tales. Exaggerations about an already-astonishing realm.”

“I think we can rule this one legit.”

“There’s so much going on at night, in the shadows, that people who spend most of their waking time in the sunlight have no idea about. Neon and spotlights and bulbs have pushed back the darkness, but night is still largely an undiscovered territory.”

“I thought vampires didn’t like cats.”

“Owen, please, this isn’t a Bela Lugosi flick. This is the real thing. We’re calling him a vampire, but he may be something else entirely. And he probably doesn’t adhere to the rules of fiction—wooden stakes and garlic, the lack of a reflection in mirrors.”

“He has the bloodletting thing down fairly well.”

“I wouldn’t take anything for granted.”

“And he heard me. That girl saw me in her backyard, the dog saw me in that couple’s bedroom a few nights ago, and the vampire heard me. What is it about me? I’m the least stealthy sleeper in town.”

“Creatures like this might have the extrasensory abilities of a dog or gifted child. Perhaps they sense you more readily because you don’t really belong here. I don’t think he saw us, but he obviously knew we were there. We’re dangerous to him and he’ll come looking for us.”

“I doubt anyone would believe us about him—especially not the cops.”

“We don’t have to convince them he’s a vampire. We just have to interest them in going inside his place to look for that dead girl’s body and the remains, if there are any, of Feit.”

“Do you think he was there to rob Crenshaw, or was he really there to kill him, knowing he was a vampire?” asked Owen.

“I’m confused. I could believe he was there to assassinate the old man if not for the fact his tattooed compatriot shot up the convenience store and murdered your friend’s daughter.”

“Yeah, that makes no sense. There is one person who might know, though.”

“Kiara?”

He nodded. “But how do I broach the subject, and if I manage to, what are the chances she won’t shoot me?”

“It’s either that or we go to the police, I guess,” said Melody. “One thing’s for sure: I bet he’ll come looking for us in the night world.”

“How will he know it’s us?”

“Did you see him sniff the air?”

“How can there be an odor if there’s no body? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe our ethereal forms have some kind of signature scent for him.”

“This sleeper business was altogether wonderful and magical before tonight. Now it’s altogether horrible.”

“Well, we could decide not to travel at night, but you’re not capable of controlling your abilities like I can,” she said.