“You want to be lonely?” Green says. “You want to be alone?”

She touches the statue he has picked up, which means she touches his hand. “Lan Caixe. The shape-changer, the mysterious one. The minstrel whose songs foretell the future. No,” Lan says, “I didn’t want to be a monster. So I made other shape-changers, and I thought they would be like me.”

“Yeah,” Green says.

“Which made me a monster.”

He doesn’t move his hand, though he agrees with her. Her fingers stay lightly on his, ready to be rejected.

“I thought you could help,” she says. “You would make me not a monster anymore.”

“Wish I could have.” Still their hands touch, in midair, but he doesn’t pull away, until it’s awkward, or meaningful, or something, but neither of them pulls away.

“What are we if we aren’t humans or heroes? Are we always monsters?” she asks.

No. We are, he thinks. We just are.

Immortal? Enduring. Like a rock, like an old man fishing—?

“Organized, maybe,” he says to her.

“Not very.” But she smiles.

“You more than me.”

“It’s a talent.”

The kids could use help. Not that he can give it. He has failed at being a Protector and failed at being a man. But maybe she can think of something he can do. Maybe together they can—

He wonders if she’s foreseeing he’ll think that.

He wonders what she’s foreseeing.

That might bother him, her foreseeing him.

“I owe them,” she says. “Thanks.”

But maybe it won’t bother him much.

“S’pose we go back to my place; we can have some coffee and talk about stuff.”

“You don’t have any tea?” says his red-haired Chinese immortal hopefully.

Nope, he’s about to say; but here he is in Shinjuku Station, in Japan, on another planet, and it is spring. Nothing will bring back Mutti and Dadu, nothing will bring back his lost wife or his old friends. Even if Lan is one of the Eight Immortals, there are no guarantees. And nothing will make him a man.

But perhaps to be superhuman you need to have been human once, and failed.

Here is what I’d say to you, he thinks to those little Japanese kids he will probably meet again, here’s the advice I’d give. You little bits of frost, you falling leaves, you mortals? You’re doing the important thing right. Keep hold of each other as long as you can. Hug each other and hang around together.

Nothing lasts forever. But Atom and Astounding and the Iguana and me?

We had a great time fishing.

“This is Japan. I bet we can buy us some tea.”

One for the Money

JEANIENE FROST

Jeaniene Frost lives with her husband and their very spoiled dog in Florida. Although not a vampire herself, she confesses to having pale skin, wearing a lot of black, and sleeping in late whenever possible. And although she can’t see ghosts, she loves to walk through old cemeteries. Jeaniene also loves poetry and animals but fears children and hates to cook. She is currently at work on the next novel in her bestselling Night Huntress series.

One

I squinted in the morning sunlight. At this hour, I should have been in bed, but thanks to my uncle Don, I was traipsing across the NCSU campus instead. I strode up to Harrelson Hall, then climbed to the third floor to the class I was looking for. When I walked in, most of the students ignored me, either chatting with each other or rifling through their bags as they waited for class to start. The room had stadium-style seating, with the entrance down by the professor’s lectern. My lower vantage point gave me the same sweeping view of the students the professor would have. I scanned every face, seeking the one that matched the jpeg I’d been sent. No, no, no . . . ah. There you are.

A pretty blonde stared back at me with barely concealed suspicion. I smiled in a friendly way and threaded up the aisle toward her. My smile didn’t soothe her; she flicked her gaze around the room as if debating whether to make a run for it.

Tammy Winslow, I thought coolly. You should be scared, because you’re worth a lot of money dead.

The air felt charged with invisible currents moments before a ghost burst into the room. Of course, I was the only one who could see him.

“Trouble,” the ghost said.

Sounds of heavy footsteps came down the hall while the air thickened with greater supernatural energy.

So much for doing this the quiet way.

“Get Bones,” I told the ghost. “Tell him to be ready at the window.”

That turned a few heads, but I didn’t care about my college-student ruse anymore. I had to get those people out of here.

“I’ve got a bomb,” I called out loudly. “If you don’t want to die, get out now.”

Several kids gasped. A few snickered, not sure if I was kidding, but no one ran for the door. The footsteps coming down the hall got closer.

“Get out now,” I snarled, pulling my gun out of its hidden holster and waving it.

No one waited to see if I was kidding anymore. Scrambling ensued as the students ran for the door. I held on to my gun, shouting at everyone to stay away from me, relieved to see the room emptying. But when Tammy tried to dart away, I grabbed her.

A man barreled through the door, knocking the panicked deluge of students aside as if they were weightless. I shoved Tammy away and whipped out three of the silver knives that I had strapped to my legs under my skirt, waiting until no one was in front of him before flinging them at the charging figure.

He didn’t try to dodge my blades, and nothing happened when they landed in his chest. A ghoul, great. Silver through the heart did nothing to ghouls; I’d have to take his head off to kill him. Where was a big sword when I needed one?

I didn’t bother with more knives, but launched myself at the ghoul, bear-hugging him. He pounded at my sides, smashing my ribs as he tried to shake me off. Pain flared in me, but I didn’t let go. If I were human, the punishment from his fists would have killed me, but I was a full vampire now, so my broken bones healed almost instantly.

I managed to put the gun’s muzzle to the ghoul’s temple and pulled the trigger.

Screams erupted from the few kids still left in the room. I ignored them and kept pumping bullets into the ghoul’s head. The bullets wouldn’t kill him, but they did a lot of damage. His head was in oozing pieces when I let go.

Tammy tried to run past me, but I was faster, knocking over desks in my way as I grabbed her. Scraping sounds let me know the ghoul was crawling toward us, his head healing with every second. I hopped over the desks, yanking Tammy along with me, and pulled out my largest knife from under my sleeve. With a hard swipe, I skewered the ghoul’s neck.

The ghost appeared in the window, followed by another surge of energy coming from the same direction. Time to go.

Tammy screamed as she fought me, trying to break my hold on her. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I said. “Fabian.” I glanced at the ghost. “Hold on.”

He wrapped his spectral hands around my shoulders. Tammy wasn’t as trusting. She kept screaming and kicking.

I ignored that and ran right at the window. Tammy shrieked as we smashed through it with a hail of glass. Since her classroom had been on the third floor, we didn’t have a long hang time before something collided with us, propelling us straight upward. Tammy’s screams rose to a terrified crescendo as we rocketed up at an incredible speed.

“Somebody help me!” she shrieked.

The vampire who’d caught us adjusted his grip, flying me, Tammy, and the hitchhiking ghost toward our destination at the far edge of campus.

“Somebody has,” he replied, English accent discernible even above Tammy’s screams.