Serene was a word you could use to describe the Weston campus that warm evening, but definitely not to describe Leesa. Confused, curious, excited, perplexed, agitated, aroused—any of those would have done nicely. But not serene. “Serene” would have strolled through the lobby and waited for the elevator. Instead, Leesa swept across the lobby straight to the stairwell, yanking the door open and racing up the stairs as quickly as her leg allowed. She needed to talk to somebody, right now. She sure hoped Cali was home.She burst through the second-floor doorway and hurried down the hallway to Cali's room. The door was open, and she heard Kesha belting out the bawdy lyrics to “Tik Tok” from inside. Thank God Cali was here. Leesa swung into the room.“Cali, you won't believe…” she stopped in mid-sentence, seeing two other girls she didn't know in the room with Cali. “Oh, sorry,” she said, her fingers darting toward

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Leesa couldn't believe how fast the first month of school flew by. She was thrilled to finally have a best friend, and she and Cali hung out as often as they could. They did lots of stuff with Stacie and Caitlin as well. Caitlin had a Wii in her room, and quiet Stacie had turned out to be quite the star at Guitar Hero. Leesa didn't play the game much, but she enjoyed listening to the music and watching her friends pound their toy guitars like amped-up rock stars. She was doing well in all of her classes, even enjoying a couple of them, especially Professor Clerval's. The leaves around campus were beginning to turn, and she knew it wouldn't be long until they began to explode with color.She was getting to know the surrounding area, usually with Cali, who knew lots of fun places to go. Leesa, Cali and Stacie had gone hiking at nearby Sleeping Giant State Park—Jersey girl Caitlin had remained behind because she

It was an odd-looking vine. Large, striated leaves clung to the corner of the building, inches from Stefan's face, their shadows hiding his dark, motionless form from the noisy students milling about in the nearby yard. He watched them idly, not hunting now, for he had been given no permission to do so. It would be awhile before he was allowed to take a human again, but there was nothing to stop him from observing or even mingling with them if he chose. So far, no one in the yard was of much interest to him—until a new arrival caught his eye. Tall and blond, she stood by herself a few feet from the back steps. Not beautiful, but near enough. Something about her tugged at him, made him want to get closer. A lust and a hunger, yes, but different in some way. The pull was thrilling, but disconcerting. Different was intriguing. But different could also be dangerous.Backing farther into the shadows, he let his eyes sweep the yard and surrounding grounds, alert to anything a

It's another hot night, dry and windless. Indian summer, Cali had called it. Not something Leesa was familiar with in San Diego, where it was like summer most of the year, and not all that cold the rest of the time. But here in Connecticut, the near-eighty degree temperatures were fifteen degrees warmer than normal for the second week of October. For three days now, the kids at Weston had been sporting shorts and T-shirts, or even bathing suits, spending as much time outside as they could, tossing Frisbees and footballs or lounging on colorful towels and blankets spread out on the grass.Definitely not vampire weather, Leesa thought as she strolled home from the library, the night air feeling especially warm after her stint in the air-conditioned building. She made a mental note to ask Dr. Clerval about that in class tomorrow. Did vampires really hate the sun, or was that just part of the legend that had grown up around them? If they existed at all, she reminded herself. Rave

“They say when trouble comes, close ranks,” Professor Clerval told the class. “And that's what the vampires did. Once solitary creatures, they began collecting into covens, for protection and to maintain some kind of order, to put limits on the indiscriminate killing that was calling too much attention their way.”“Protection from what?” asked a voice Leesa recognized. She had chosen the back row, as always, in case Rave showed up again. A few rows down to her right, she spotted the questioner's familiar red hair. Stanley. The guy asked at least one question every class, usually a good one. She wished she were as confident.“From us,” the professor replied. “And whatever else hunts them.”“You're not saying vampires are afraid of us, are you?” asked another guy, the disbelief evident in his voice.“Individually, no, of course not. Vampires are much too powerful. But whe