"I want to help you guys find Mari, I really do," Anthony said as he turned to face Sohinki. They'd stopped a few blocks down the street from where they'd left David and Anthony was no longer standing in the shadows, letting Sohinki finally have a chance to see his face. "But things've changed since we last met up, Matt. I'm a vampire now."

Sohinki blinked. "Seriously? First Ian and now you?" He squinted at the man in front of him and realized he could see the vampire in him—his skin was paler than its normal shade of tan and there was a quiet, lethal grace in his posture.

"Yeah. I got bitten by… a rabid and Ian had to turn me." Anthony looked uncomfortable and Sohinki got the feeling he'd just received an absurdly abbreviated version of whatever must have happened.

Sohinki cursed vividly, sliding his hand through the front of his hair. "Well, whatever," he muttered, half to himself. "It doesn't matter either way." He looked back up at Anthony. "I still want your help."

"But David—"

"Can get the fuck over it," Sohinki snapped. "Just because his wife was killed by a bloodsucker doesn't mean he has to take revenge on every vampire he comes across."

Anthony frowned. "Will you actually be able to convince him of that?"

"Yeah," Matt said, though he really had no idea if it was true. If not, I'll just go without him, he thought harshly.

"Well, even if you can get David to agree to work with us, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to convince Ian to spend time around David again. And I'm… not so sure I'd be willing to trust him either."

Matt groaned in exasperation, trying not to drown in hopelessness and frustration and anger for David, who always seemed to complicate everything. "Then Mari's as good as dead," he snapped. He saw Anthony open his mouth, an expression of sympathy in his eyes, but Sohinki had already turned away to start pacing restlessly. "I should've gone after her the minute she left," he muttered. "It was so stupid to let her go…."

"Look, Matt, don't give up yet. I haven't even talked to Ian, so I don't know what he'll say. It's not like he hates David or anything—he'll probably agree to help."

Sohinki turned back to Anthony, exhaling a long breath through his nose. "You'll talk to him, right?"

"'Course. But you'll have to talk to David and make sure he's not going to be as… unbalanced as last time. I don't want to agree to spend two weeks around him if he still wants to kill me and Ian. Okay?"

Sohinki nodded. "Thanks, Anthony. I really appreciate it. I mean, I know I probably won't even be able to find Mari, and she might be dead by the time we get there, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try."

"I get it, believe me," Anthony said. There was a thread of sadness in his eyes that made Sohinki suddenly remember that Anthony probably could understand the desperate need to go check on a loved one. In fact, only two months ago, Anthony had been in the exact same situation as Sohinki—only able to look for the girl he loved after enough time had passed to make chances of finding her abysmally low.

"Did you… did you ever find Kalel?" Sohinki asked hesitantly, afraid he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, but we were too late." Anthony's face was sad and weary as he glanced down at the pavement. "She was the rabid that bit me."

"Shit," Sohinki said. "I'm sorry." That sadness in Anthony's eyes made Matt feel more desperate than ever to start looking for Mari as soon as possible. No matter how hard it would be to convince David to agree to make this trip in the company of two vampires, Sohinki had to succeed and he had to do it before it was too late.

He took a deep breath and said, "Why don't we plan on meeting back here tomorrow night, maybe an hour after sunset or so. I can talk to David and you can talk to Ian and we'll see if we can come to some sort of agreement."

Anthony nodded. "Sounds like a plan. And Matt, don't worry about it. I can't vouch for Ian, but I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you find Mari. If that means leaving David and Ian here while you and I go looking for her, so be it."

Sohinki didn't know what to say or how to express his gratitude. He could see in the other man's eyes that he truly meant his offer and his genuine kindness caught Sohinki by surprise. Somehow, despite all the shit that had happened since the apocalypse, Anthony was the same good-hearted person he'd always been. He'd lost Kalel and been turned into a vampire, yet he hadn't allowed those losses to make him selfish or hateful. He's a far better man than David, Sohinki thought. And he's a far better man than me.