All I can do is try to choose some smart strategies, even if it feels like giving up. Even if it means accepting that the best-case scenario is one in which I never live to see if my plan even works out. I have no way of contacting the person I need to see, but instinct tells me to check the mall, where I learned of the Corrupter for the very first time. I can wait as long as it takes; it’s not like I’ll get in trouble with my parents.

Ximena offers to let me stay with her, but I ask her to drive me home. Maybe she’s trustworthy … but maybe she’s not, and I can’t afford the luxury of making a mistake about it. The second she drops me off, I pull out my bike and start across town, the sky a shield of low-hanging clouds that makes the sun feel farther away than ever. A week and a half ago, I was fantasizing about a future at SAIC—a dream stoked by a man who was already plotting my death when he suggested I apply for their program.

Obviously, Mr. Strauss recognized the meaning behind my sketches—knew what was happening to me, saw my art as proof. What scares me is the possibility that there are more humans out there who want me dead, while I’m fresh out of humans who want to protect me. Vampires might watch over me by night, but who’s left to keep me safe now?

When I reach the mall, I’m not sure I’m even surprised to find Jude already waiting for me. Sitting alone at the same table as before, he turns a coffee cup around in his long, slim fingers, and that familiar prickle trails up the back of my neck as I approach. When he looks at me, it’s with an expression that suggests he’s heard terrible news. “I was wondering if you would turn up here.”

“The burner phone died and I didn’t remember your number,” I reply awkwardly, still numb as I take a seat. “The only places I could think to look for you were here or the school parking lot, and I don’t know if it’s cloudy enough for you to be outside. I don’t know how that works.”

A smile flits across his face. “It’s cloudy enough for me to get around, if I take certain precautions. But I don’t generally like to risk it. Frankly, I ought to be asleep anyway.”

This is actually a point I’ve always been curious about, and I might as well ask. “What happens if vampires don’t sleep?”

His smile stretches until it’s almost genuine. “They get tired.”