Balthazar had to think a couple seconds before he nodded. “Chinatown. A shop—I know the owner—he’ll hide me.”

“We’ll get you there,” Lucas said.

“Thank you,” Balthazar said. One of his hands found mine. Normally he was so strong, but now the pressure he put on my fingers was weaker than a child’s. “Black Cross—They aren’t—”

“They don’t know about me,” I said. “Lucas is taking care of me. I’m safe.”

Balthazar nodded. His handsome face was twisted and swollen, and I wished I at least could’ve brought some bandages. Even a vampire might require weeks to recover from injuries this serious. I tried to smile for him as I wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, but it was difficult.

At last we reached Chinatown. The street Balthazar told us to turn onto was small and unbelievably crowded. Almost every single store sign was in Chinese; it really felt like we’d driven to another country altogether.

Lucas double-parked and glanced over his shoulder. “You sure you can get where you’re going?”

“Maybe Bianca could walk with me.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said. It was too easy to imagine Balthazar passing out in the gutter and being dragged to a hospital, where he’d promptly be declared dead. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’m going to circle the block.” Lucas glanced at our passenger. “Good luck, Balthazar.”

“Thanks. I mean it.”

I got out first and accepted Balthazar’s heavy arm across my shoulders. He could stand but just barely. Once the van doors were shut, Lucas drove away. Although several people stared at Balthazar, bloody wreck that he was, nobody said anything. That was New York for you.

As soon as we started walking, Balthazar said, “Come with me.”

“I am coming with you. We’re going to find the shop. I think it’s right along here—”

“No, I mean—don’t go back with Lucas. I can hide you here.”

Shocked, I said, “Balthazar, we talked about this. You know how I feel.”

“This isn’t about romance.” He limped beside me, and a few drops of blood trickled down from his wrist, along his hands, onto the sidewalk. “You see now what Black Cross is. What they’re capable of. Bianca, if they learned the truth—if one tenth of what happened to me happened to you—”

“It won’t,” I said. “Lucas and I are leaving soon. I promise.”

Balthazar didn’t look convinced, but he nodded.

When we reached the shop, an older lady behind the counter began shouting something in Chinese. At first I wondered if she wasn’t suggesting that somebody call 911. Then an even older man, almost entirely bald, emerged from the back of the store. He saw Balthazar and hurried forward; though I didn’t understand a word he said—or of Balthazar’s response, which was also in Chinese—I could tell he was expressing concern.

“You guys are friends,” I said.

“Since 1964.” Balthazar stroked my cheek with one hand.

“Please be careful.”

“I will. Balthazar—if I don’t see you again—”

“It’s okay,” he said. “I know.”

He leaned forward, as if to kiss me, then grimaced. His lips were too torn for that. I took his less-mangled hand in mine and kissed his palm. Then I ran into the clamor of Chinatown, back toward Lucas and the danger that awaited us when we returned to Black Cross.

Chapter Ten

“CAN I ASK YOU A PERSONAL QUESTION?” RAQUEL said.

I glanced over at her warily. We were partnered with Milos and Dana on patrol in Grand Central Terminal. Bustling crowds surrounded us, and the walls were lined with as many stores as any shopping mall. For a train station, it was incredibly beautiful—lots of white marble, a golden clock, and, my favorite part, a high cerulean ceiling painted with the constellations in gold. Despite all this, it wasn’t really the place for a heart-to-heart chat, which made me wonder why Raquel had waited until now. But I said, “Sure, go ahead.”

My guess about her intentions was borne out when she said, “You and Balthazar—how close did you two get?”

“I wasn’t ever in love with him, if that’s what you mean.”

“But what Lucas said two nights ago, when he—when Balthazar—” Raquel struggled for a way to describe what she had thought had happened without the word “murder,” and failed. “He suggested that Balthazar tried to force you to have sex with him. I thought the two of you were—well, I didn’t think he had to force you.”

Raquel was the one person who might be able to see through the ruse Lucas and I had constructed to save Balthazar. Eventually I hoped to be able to tell her the truth about that much of it, but not now. “Lucas got angry. He took some stuff I said out of context and—blew up, I guess. You know about his temper.”

“Oh. Okay.” Still disquieted, Raquel shifted from one foot to the other.

A station employee nearby shot us a dirty look, assuming we were loitering teenagers. I mean, we were teenagers, plus we were loitering, but we were also watching out for a vampire that was rumored to be stalking prey here. In my opinion that was justification enough, but it wasn’t the kind of thing we could explain. “Come on,” I said. “Let’s stroll for a bit.”

She fell into step beside me. “So, getting seriously into the TMI zone here—did you and Balthazar ever have sex?”