“What do I do, Sarah?”

“Leo, that man in there is a monster. He’s killed hundreds of Keepers, and he’ll kill Miri the instant he discovers what she is.”

“She won’t let him.”

“In bed together for hours, exploring each other naked, and him being familiar with Keepers and how they look—it could happen at any moment.” She gestured toward the magnum. “That thing is loaded with explosive bullets. They’ll blow your brains right out of your head, your heart out of your chest. The only thing that Miriam’s body can’t survive is the failure of blood flow. Given an intact circulatory system, she’ll heal. Always. He knows this. He knows exactly how to kill a Keeper.”

“I had a nice life. I had my loft and my little boat and my friends—a few friends—and I was collecting cool artists like the Starn brothers and John Currin . . . but I spent most of my nights at home, or going to clubs by myself, trying to look like the group I wanted to be part of. But nobody wanted me. I was a washout . . . until all of a sudden Miriam Blaylock starts taking an interest. In me! I was totally impressed, Sarah.” She choked back a sob.

To her credit, she did not break down, which is what Sarah had thought was going to happen. She raised her head, stuck out her chin, and said, “What we have to do is pretty damn simple.”

“It is indeed.”

She took out the fleam, handed it to Sarah. “You know how to use this; I don’t.”

Sarah opened it. “You hook the end in behind the vessel, then jerk it toward you. The blood’ll come out in a stream. You get your mouth over it and just keep swallowing as fast as you can.”

“What if I throw up?”

“You won’t. You’re carrying around a pint of Miri’s blood in your veins. It’ll be like taking the most intense drug you’ve ever known. It makes the most powerful horse ever sold seem like aspirin.”

“He’ll go nuts when he gets stuck. I mean, he’s gonna feel it, Sarah.”

“I’ll do the incision. All you have to do is cover the wound with your mouth and suck as hard as you possibly can.”

“He’ll fight.”

“It’s not like that if you’re fast. They lose consciousness in a couple of seconds.”

“You better do it.”

“You need to eat! If you don’t, her blood’s going to start destroying yours. You’ll go into shock.”

“I’ll die?” She actually sounded hopeful, as if she thought it might be a welcome release. Sarah thought of what was in the attic.

“Feeding draws the blood right out of the brain. He won’t even get a chance to yell.”