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When Abby got off the plane in Los Angeles, she went straight to the address in West Hollywood Joseph had given her. Lily Nowak’s address.
“It’s the natural place to start,” he’d said when she was still back at the Foundation. “As Gram explained their plan to me, Lily Devine will try to kill Lily Nowak on the set. But the Galaxy Pictures lot is enormous. It’s unlikely you’ll find her there. Follow the grandmother however, and you’ll find her granddaughter eventually.”
“But why do you want me to find her?” Abby had asked. “I thought you approved of her killing the vampire.”
Joseph smiled, but for the first time since meeting him Abby thought he looked tired. A thousand years of weariness etched the corners of his eyes and mouth. She reached to comfort him, but he held up a small, calloused hand. “I do approve. But Lily is a special case. It would be a shame to lose her, even if she’s successful. No one, not here at the Foundation, or in Vienna, or anywhere else, has ever heard of a human with vampire blood before.”
“Lily has vampire blood?”
“Celeste didn’t tell you? It’s why she heals so quickly.”
“It doesn’t seem to me that she heals quickly at all. Her scars are horrible.”
“Yes, but they’re still healing. And she would never have survived the vampire’s first attempt to kill her without her special blood. She’s unique.”
That was when Abby realized what Joseph was asking her to do. “You want me to make sure she doesn’t get herself killed, don’t you,” she said.
He smiled again, a little less wearily, and shrugged. “I’m not sure that’s possible, given her current state of mind. She’s very determined. And very depressed. Still, we must do what we can, not only for Lily’s sake, but for the sake of any innocents unlucky enough to find themselves in her way. I’d go myself, but with Milos gone I’m needed here. From what Celeste has told me, you’ve already established something of a rapport with the young woman. And, although you may not have discovered it yet, we Fallen do retain much of our Risen strength. You will be able to protect her, even if she resists. Which she will.”
How could Abby have said no? Lily needed her help. Now. And she did feel a certain sense of responsibility for Lily after comforting her in Northampton. Terrible things had been done to both of them by Lily’s grandmother and Milos. The only difference was Abby had actually died, while Lily had only been pronounced dead.
Which was why, two days later, Abby found herself spying on Lily Nowak’s West Hollywood apartment from the roof of the building across the street.
She saw the vampires twice, but no sign of Lily. The first time was well after midnight the day she arrived, long after she’d set up watch that afternoon. Milos and the elder Lily came home in a limousine, and went straight into the apartment. They didn’t turn the lights on, of course, so Abby had no idea what they did inside. Not sleeping, obviously. She thought about ringing the doorbell to make sure they weren’t feeding on some hapless human they’d pulled off Hollywood Boulevard, then decided that would probably just get her staked.
Rising again was the last thing she wanted.
The second time she saw them was early the next afternoon. Another limousine pulled up in front of the apartment building and, after letting the driver wait fifteen minutes, the two vampires got in the car. They didn’t seem to be bothered by the sunlight at all, which Abby didn’t understand. She’d have to ask Joseph about that the next time she saw him.
She knew where they were going. Tonight was the first day of filming for Frankly My Dear—it was all over the media. Apparently they were going to burn down half the studio. According to Gram, that was when Lily intended to strike, using the fire to create a diversion.
She followed the limousine in her rental car, but the guard at the studio wouldn’t let her in. She did her best to charm him, and he was very helpful, but he still wouldn’t let her in without a pass. Unlike the Risen, she was unable to compel him enough to get him into trouble.
“You could always take a studio tour,” he suggested. “It’s a long shot, but maybe you’ll see someone you know. If you do, tell them to call Kevin Mason at the south gate. I can let you in then.”
Smiling, he tipped his hat. Abby backed out and drove away. Briefly she considered zooming right into the studio—there was no barrier to stop her. But she’d never find Lily with every security guard in the place chasing after her. Better to follow the guard’s suggestion, since she couldn’t think of a better idea herself.
Despite Joseph’s confidence in her, she really wasn’t very good at this spying thing.
Her spirits picked up the moment she joined the crowd in the amusement park. Everyone was so happy! Children and adults, she felt their excitement like a splash in the face. Sharing their happiness, she wandered through the park with a gigantic smile. She would have liked to have spent the rest of the day reveling in all that gladness, but she still had to find Lily, which meant finding a way into the working part of the studio.
She joined the line for the tour. The people were excited here, too, but the kids couldn’t move around as much, and no one enjoyed the hour wait. Not that a little sibling scuffling and parental crankiness were going to ruin Abby’s good mood. She hadn’t been in an amusement park since fifth grade, but from now on she was going to visit them all the time.
Boarding the tram, she was delighted to find herself sitting next to an eight year old boy. She smiled. He beamed back at her.
“My name’s Marcus,” he said. “What’s yours?”
“Marcus, hush.”
The boy’s mother leaned protectively over her son, but her scowl melted immediately in front of Abby’s radiant greeting.
“I’m sorry,” the mother said. “I didn’t mean any disrespect. He’s such a friendly boy, and I don’t want him to get in the habit of talking to strangers, you understand. This is our third day in a row taking the tour, and the awful woman who sat next to us two days ago did nothing but make faces at him the whole time.”
“She was a zombie,” Marcus said.
“A zombie?” Abby declared. “My goodness.”
“An actress playing a zombie, actually,” the mother explained. “There was a zombie attack at the end of the ride, and she turned out to be one of them.”
“I can’t wait to see it.” Abby settled comfortably into her seat. “And you’re absolutely right about not letting your child talk to strangers. It’s a dangerous world.”
The woman’s smile widened. “Why, thank you. Everyone’s so darn judgmental these days about how you raise your children. It’s nice to meet somebody who still appreciates how hard it is.”
The tram glided up the hill into the studio. The old Abby had never been much of a film buff—she’d always been too busy studying or working—but the new Abby enjoyed the tour immensely, especially with someone as enthusiastic as Marcus sitting beside her. Together they shrieked at the ‘70s shootout, shivered when the flood tore towards them down the road, and screamed delightedly as the Tyrannosaurus chased them through the jungle. It was a lot of fun, even with Abby keeping an eye out for a way to remain inside.
Unfortunately, she never found one. And she and Marcus didn’t get to see the Frankly My Dear set either, which disappointed Marcus’s mom. Abby had hoped to at least be able to know where she was heading when she finally got inside the studio. But the tour guide explained how, with the movie about to start filming in a couple of hours, the set was simply too busy to be included in the tour.
When the tram returned to the theme park, Abby said goodbye to her new friends, then set off on her own tour. It didn’t take long to decide that breaking into the working part of the studio would be simple enough. With her new strength, she could climb the chain link fences easily. The only problem would be making sure no one saw her.
She hid in one of the super clean bathrooms just before closing. A security guard checked it about fifteen minutes later, but after Lily explained in her sweetest voice that she’d finally found her purse and was on her way back to the front gate, he left her alone.
The moon wasn’t out when she followed the guard outside, but since the park was as brightly lit as a city street moonlight wasn’t going to be a problem. She realized the chain link fence wasn’t going to be much of a problem either. As strong as she was, she didn’t have to climb it. Instead, she went into a dark corner and gave the links a sharp yank. The chain came off the fence pole like paper off a three ring binder, leaving a hole more than large enough for her to slip through.
Finding the set was easy too. All she had to do was head toward the searchlights slashing across the sky.
As she drew close, golf carts and people appeared on the paths around her, whizzing back and forth like bees around a hive. She passed a few southern belles and soldiers, but most of the people looked like they were dressed for casual day at the office.
The searchlights looked to be just around the next corner when she was stopped by a temporary barricade. The security guard on the other side was checking people’s passes before waving them through.
Stumped, Abby looked for a way around. On one side was a huge soundstage, with one door and no windows. On the other was a one story building she guessed contained offices. If she could get into the office building, she might be able to climb out a window on the other side of the guard.
“Need a lift?”
Abby turned around to find one of the golf carts parked right beside her. A handsome young man, typical of the many hopeful actors that filled the park, smiled at her with perfect teeth. Beside him sat another young man nursing an energy drink while wearing a half-burned Confederate uniform and blood-stained bandages.
“As a matter of fact,” Abby said brightly, “I do.”
She hopped on the back of the cart.
“You part of the production?” the driver asked as they drove off.
“Uh-huh.”
“What do you do?”
Abby thought fast. “I’m Ms. Devine’s personal assistant.”
“Cool. I guess that means I can’t ask you when you get off tonight. P.A.s never get off.”
“Maybe some other time,” she answered kindly.
The Confederate also smiled at her as the security officer let them through the temporary barricade with a bored wave.
“Thanks for the lift,” Abby said truthfully at the next corner. Sliding off the back of the cart, she hopped onto the street. The driver and the actor waved cheerful goodbyes.
The set spread out before her. On her right, the street was lined with the sorts of vans and trucks her old self had seen often enough in New York, where they always seemed to shoot a lot of movies. Equipment trucks with booms and wires and lighting equipment piled on the sidewalk outside, trailers with stairs leading up to dressing rooms and makeup. Abby was surprised to see the same thing here, in the middle of the studio, but guessed it was probably easier to have everything on site instead of a mile away in some other building.
The set itself, a floodlit street at the far end of an empty lot, filled the rest of the block. On the far side stood a mockup of an antebellum mansion, all columns and leafy trees. But Abby’s side was dominated by a long, two-story wall of plywood held up by two-by-four scaffolding. It took her a moment to realize she was looking at the back of a nineteenth century street scene.
A cheer went up from the grandstand next to the mansion. The people filling it craned their necks at something at the far end of the street. Some star’s grand entrance? The vampire?
Ignoring the stage crew, Abby set off across the lot toward the back of the set. She was starting to realize that, even though she’d found the set easily, she might have a harder time locating Lily. The crowd was larger and busier than she’d expected. And Lily, actress that she was, could be anyone. For all she knew, she was one of the southern belles. Though it would probably take more makeup than there was in the whole studio for Lily to pass as a southern belle these days.
The poor thing.
No one paid her any attention as she picked her way through the cables and wires into the empty lot—they all had too much to do.
Wait—was that Milos? He didn’t seem to have seen her, so she ducked behind a bank of darkened lights. He was still there when she looked back out, standing behind what looked like half a stable. A wagon, a couple horses next to the wagon, and several people standing around in and out of costume. What was Milos doing here?
The only possible answer was that he was waiting for Lily. The risen Lily, that was. And, if he was waiting for the risen Lily, chances were good the other Lily was somewhere close as well.