“And you are not listening!” Bella placed a palm on his shoulder and it actually appeared to calm him some. “Whatever the Soul Eater’s plans are, he is not finished with your friend. He will not come for him tonight.”

“You sound so sure of that,” Max said bitterly. He shrugged off her hand and headed through the door, slamming it behind him.

But she was sure of it, I realized as we stood silently staring at each other. Whatever the Soul Eater wanted with Nathan, it wasn’t to kill him, yet.

And that terrified me more than anything we’d encountered so far.

Bella was able to locate Cyrus with stunning speed. I couldn’t help but find it comical that she did so with her head stuck out the window, sniffing the air as we drove around the neighborhood where they’d first found evidence of the Soul Eater’s minions.

“Left!” she shouted, and Max jerked the steering wheel, nearly pulling the car onto two wheels as we careened down the street.

“This is a one-way!” I shrieked, grabbing at the dashboard.

“I’ll honk the horn so they hear me coming,” Max said through clenched teeth. “It’s not like anyone’s going to be out jogging at this—”

“Watch out!” Bella screamed as a figure stumbled into the road.

Max hit the brake and we spun sideways, skidding to a halt just feet from the man, who stared at us from blackened, swollen eyes.

Thick, bloody trails dripped from a wound at his hairline. His garments were torn, not so much clothing him as draping over him.

“It’s Cyrus.” I pushed open the door and raced to his side.

He looked at me with a dazed expression, as if he didn’t recognize me.

I took his hand in mine, careful not to startle him. He was warm, thank God. I took it as a sign he had not been turned again.

“Cyrus, it’s me. Carrie. Do you know who I am?” I tried to lead him to the car as I spoke, but he resisted.

“He wants me dead. He sent them…. He really wants me dead.” His words sounded as though they came from an empty room. I’d heard the phrase “I was beside myself” before, but I’d never actually seen someone in the literal state. Wherever he was, Cyrus was not in his mind at the moment.

“Come on, let’s get someplace safe.” I looked in the direction he’d come from. The Soul Eater’s men would be searching for him any second now.

Max had exited the car, but stayed safely behind it, watching us from a distance. When I called for his aid, he sprinted to my side.

“The vampires you two found. Do you remember which place it was?” I asked Max quietly. The huge houses looked sinister in the early morning darkness, like horror movie sets crammed onto one lot.