Blake looked at the clock. Eight-thirty in the evening. He had less than twenty-four hours left to live.

Elise sat across from him, her tenseness palpable. Mencheres had forced her to leave this morning to get some sleep, but Elise had come back looking like she had spent the three hours in the other cabin wide-awake. Blake wanted to assure her once more that she'd done everything she could, but maybe talking about it would only make things worse.

Her blond hair was loose, falling just past her shoulders, and she wore another tank top with yoga-style pants. Blake had been studying her while she looked out the window, trying to memorize her features.

Small, straight nose. The mouth that looked more sensual than pouty. Those high cheekbones and smooth forehead. Her beautiful, mesmerizing, blue-green eyes.

Yes, if there was an afterlife, Blake wanted to bring the memory of Elise with him.

"Chess?" he asked, gesturing to the board.

She glanced away from the window. "I don't know how to play."

"Hmm. You don't know how to drive or to play chess.

What have you been doing with all your time?"

His tone was teasing, but her face clouded. "I listen to music," she said slowly. "Read a lot of books.

When I get restless, I walk through the city. It's been sufficient." It didn't sound sufficient. It sounded lonely. Elise had said she'd been living like that since the fifties, but what had she been like before then? Blake knew she was much older than he, even though she looked to be in her early twenties. How much older? he wondered.

"How old are you?"

She appeared to think about it for a second. "Altogether, including the years before I became a vampire?"

Blake nodded.

"Ninety-nine in September," Elise said.

That number was so at odds with her lovely, youthful appearance, Blake had to smile. "You don't look a day over ninety-two," he said with wry humor.

Elise shrugged. "Some days, I feel even older."

Today was one of those days, if the stress on her face was any indicator. Blake sought to lighten her mood. There was no need for either of them to bemoan what was coming.

"How about I teach you to play chess? It's not hard. By the time the train arrives in Salt Lake tomorrow morning, you'll be a pro."

"I don't want to learn to play chess," Elise snapped, then she grabbed the edge of the built-in metal board and ripped it out of the cabin wall.

Blake stared at her. "Don't do this."

Suddenly she was in front of him, kneeling in the empty space where the pull-down table had been.

"You don't have to die." Her voice was ragged. "I can take you with me and keep you safe. Keep the demon from hurting anyone else..."

Blake took her beautiful face in his hands. "You can't watch over me every second of every day, and I won't let that thing get away to ruin more people's lives. Aside from you, the only thing that's made me happy these past few days is knowing that I've finally scared it for a change. That demon is going to regret what it did to me, because I'm the man who's going to bring it down. Don't try to take that away from me, Elise."

Her eyes were bright, pink tingeing the corners. Blake couldn't stop himself from what he did next. He kissed her, needing her taste like he was the vampire, and she was fresh blood. To his relief, her mouth opened at once, her tongue raking his while fangs sprang out of her upper teeth.

Blake didn't care about her fangs, even when those sharp tips scored his tongue. Elise sucked at the blood while kissing him, her raw need matching his and driving his passion to a fiery level. He pulled her up on his lap, groaning when she wrapped her legs around his waist.

His hands went under her tank top, tugging it up in impatience. Then he blinked when it was wadded on the floor with her bra in the next moment. Blake didn't bother to contemplate how fast Elise had taken it off, however. He cupped her breasts, tearing his mouth from hers to kiss them. Her flesh was soft and sleek, her nipples so hard by comparison. When he sucked and bit them gently, Elise moaned, ripping at his pants.

They split open, torn to the knee. Blake pulled them off, kicking the remains free. Her pants were gone in another blur, as was his shirt, until there was nothing separating her skin from his.

He grabbed her hips and arched forward, his mind exploding at the squeeze of her flesh as he thrust into her. Oh God, oh yes! He kissed her again, bracing his legs against the chair across from him, moving deep and fast within her. Elise rocked with him, gripping him so tightly it almost hurt - but he never wanted to end.

He held her, moving faster, knowing this would be the closest he ever came to heaven.

The whistle at the station sounded like a death knell to Elise. She gripped Blake's hand. If it were possible for vampires to throw up, she would have gotten sick as the train ground to a halt.

"Salt Lake City," the attendant cheerfully called out.

Blake squeezed her hand. "It's okay," he said, and squared his shoulders.

I won't cry, Elise promised herself. If he can be this brave, so can I.

She didn't feel brave, though. She felt like silver was spearing her through the heart. How she'd ever get through the day, she had no idea.

Last night, she'd cast about for any other option than Blake's death. Turning Blake into a vampire wouldn't work, Mencheres reminded her when she brought that up. Changing Blake into a vampire required that he be drained of blood until he was almost dead. Then, still clinging to life, Blake would drink Elise's blood, which would trigger his undeath. Since natural death didn't happen, becoming a vampire wouldn't force the demon out. No, it would mean Xaphan would have a back door into possessing a vampire instead. With Blake as a possessed vampire, who knew what new horrors Xaphan could wreak? They'd be handing the demon more power than he'd ever dreamed.

I won't let the demon free, he'd stated flatly. Mencheres had agreed that only human death, without any vampire blood in Blake, could force Xaphan out into the merciless trap of the salt flats.

But without any vampire blood in Blake, his death was irreversible.

They exited the train. Elise kept hold of Blake's hand because she couldn't stand not to touch him, but Mencheres's hand on Blake's shoulder was for a different reason - to restrain him in case the demon tried to make a run for it again. Xaphan had taken over Blake last night, going ballistic and trashing the interior of the cabin before Mencheres stilled him. Elise had to green-eye the train workers so they didn't call the police at the disturbance. You'll all die tomorrow, Xaphan had spat before crawling back into whatever hole he'd burrowed inside Blake. No, they hadn't heard the last from Xaphan.

Elise didn't know what the demon had in store for them, but she knew he wouldn't go gently into that good night. Still, Xaphan wasn't scaring her with his threats. He was just solidifying her resolve to do anything to make sure Blake had his victory over the demon. If Blake was willing to die for that, so was she.

Mencheres had two vehicles waiting for them in the parking garage. One was a regular four-door sedan, but the other was a large van. Elise's heart clenched at the thought of loading Blake's body into the van afterward. At least he wouldn't be stuffed into a trunk. That indignity she couldn't stand.

"Wait a few days until you mail my letters," Blake said to her quietly. He'd written to his family, apologizing for what they thought he'd done and telling them he loved them.

"All right."

She didn't tell Blake that she had no intention of mailing those letters. She'd deliver them in person and make sure, with all her inhuman power, that they didn't think less of the amazing man walking next to her.

Mencheres stopped by the van. "I'll drive this one," he stated. "You and Blake follow me in the car." Elise didn't move. No, no, was running through her mind in a roar. Blake leaned down and, very gently, kissed her cheek. "Don't come apart on me now," he breathed.

She nodded and forced her legs to move, one step after the other. Somehow, she made it into the car, Blake in the driver's seat next to her. Mencheres started up the van, and Blake followed him out of the parking lot into the bright morning sunshine.