I almost took off then, but I was too afraid to draw the attention of the cloaked figures.

So I watched them move smoothly forward, noticing other things about them. How they stayed in a perfect diamond formation that never was the slightest bit out of line no matter how the terrain changed under their feet. How the one at the point of the diamond was much smal er than the others, and its cloak was darker, too. How they didn't seem to be tracking their way in - not trying to fol ow the path of any scent. They simply knew their way. Maybe they were invited.

They moved directly toward the house, and I felt like it might be safe to breathe again when they started silently up the steps toward the front door. They weren't coming straight for Diego and me, at least. When they were out of sight, we could disappear into the sound of the next breeze through the trees, and they would never know we'd been here.

I looked at Diego and twitched my head slightly toward the way we'd come. He narrowed his eyes and held up one finger. Oh great, he wanted to stay. I rol ed my eyes at him, though I was so afraid, I was surprised I was capable of sarcasm. We both looked back to the house. The cloaked things had let themselves in silently, but I realized that neither she nor Riley had spoken since we'd caught sight of the visitors. They must have heard something or known in some other way that they were in danger.

"Don't bother," a very clear, monotone voice commanded lazily. It was not as high-pitched as our creator's, but it stil sounded girlish to me. "I think you know who we are, so you must know that there is no point in trying to surprise us. Or hide from us. Or fight us. Or run."

A deep, masculine chuckle that did not belong to Riley echoed menacingly through the house.

"Relax," instructed the first inflectionless voice - the cloaked girl. Her voice had that distinctive ring that made me certain she was a vampire, not a ghost or any other kind of nightmare.

"We're not here to destroy you. Yet."

There was a moment of silence, and then some barely audible movements. A shifting of positions.

"If you are not here to kil us, then... what?" our creator asked, strained and shril .

"We seek to know your intentions here. Specifical y, if they involve... a certain local clan," the cloaked girl explained. "We wonder if they have anything to do with the mayhem you've created here. Illegally created."

Diego and I frowned simultaneously. None of this made sense, but the last part was the weirdest. What could be il egal for vampires? What cop, what judge, what prison could have power over us?

"Yes," our creator hissed. "My plans are all about them. But we can't move yet. It's tricky." A petulant note crept into her voice at the end.

Chapters 9

"Trust me, we know the difficulties better than you. It is remarkable that you've managed to keep off the radar, so to speak, for this long. Tel me" - a hint of interest colored the monotone - "how are you doing it?"

Our creator hesitated, and then spoke al in a rush. Almost as if there had been some silent intimidation. "I haven't made the decision," she spit out. Then she added more slowly, unwil ingly, "To attack. I've never decided to do anything with them."

"Rough, but effective," the cloaked girl said. "Unfortunately, your period of deliberation has come to a close. You must decide - now - what you wil do with your little army." Both Diego's and my eyes widened at that word. "Otherwise, it wil be our duty to punish you as the law demands. This reprieve, however short, troubles me. It is not our way. I suggest you give us what assurances you can... quickly."

"We'l go at once!" Riley volunteered anxiously, and there was a sharp hiss.

"We'l go as soon as possible," our creator amended furiously. "There is much to do. I assume you wish us to succeed? Then I must have a little time to get them trained - instructed - fed!"

There was a short pause.

"Five days. We wil come for you then. And there is no rock you can hide under or speed at which you can flee that wil save you. If you have not made your attack by the time we come, you wil burn." This was said with no menace other than an absolute certainty.

"And if I have made my attack?" our creator asked, shaken.

"We'l see," the cloaked girl answered in a brighter tone than she'd used yet. "I suppose that al depends on how successful you are. Work hard to please us." The last command was given in a flat, hard pitch that made me feel a strange chil in the center of my body.

"Yes," our creator snarled.

"Yes," Riley echoed in a whisper.

A second later the cloaked vampires were noiselessly exiting the house. Neither Diego nor I so much as took a breath for five minutes after they'd disappeared. Inside the house, our creator and Riley were just as quiet. Another ten minutes passed in total stil ness.

I touched Diego's arm. This was our chance to get out of here. At the moment, I wasn't so afraid of Riley anymore. I wanted to get as far away as I could from those dark-cloaks. I wanted the safety of numbers waiting back in the log cabin, and I figured that was exactly how our creator felt, too. Why she'd made so many of us in the first place. There were some things out there scarier than I'd imagined.

Diego hesitated, stil listening, and a second later his patience was rewarded.

"Wel ," she whispered inside the house, "now they know."

Was she talking about the cloaks or the mysterious clan?

Which one was the enemy she'd mentioned before the drama?

"That doesn't matter. We outnumber - "

"Any warning matters!" she growled, cutting him off. "There is so much to do. Only five days!" She groaned. "No more messing around. You start tonight."

"I won't fail you!" Riley promised.

Crap. Diego and I moved at the same time, leaping from our perch into the next tree over, flying back the way we'd come. Riley was in a hurry now, and if he found Diego's trail after al that had just passed with the cloaks, and no Diego there at the end of it...

"I've got to get back and be waiting," Diego whispered to me as we raced. "Lucky it's not in view of the house! Don't want him to know I heard."

"We should talk to him together."

"Too late for that. He'd notice that your scent wasn't on the trail. Looks suspicious."