Wish Upon a Star (40 page)

Vulnerable to silver
: check, as I’d already witnessed back in the courtroom.

Destroyed by sunlight
: check, if “destroyed” meant increasingly severe burns tied to the length of exposure, culminating in brutal, cindery death.

Killed by stake
: check, but only with a direct blow to the heart, with a weapon made of oak.

Teleporting, mind-reading, turning into a mist
: nope, nothing that cinematic.

Garlic, crosses, and other pathetic human folk remedies to protect against fangs
: forget about it.

Vampires didn’t need to sleep in coffins, and they didn’t salvage earth from some distant homeland. They
did
require an explicit invitation before they could cross the threshold of a home. And somehow, creepiest of all, they had no reflection — not in a mirror.

All of that was crystal clear inside my head. All of that, and one more fact: vampire blood healed humans. Healed humans completely, from whatever physical harm we suffered, from whatever illnesses our weak, flawed bodies harbored.

Vampire blood had brought me back from the very brink of death.

* * *

Buy
Fright Court
and read the rest of Sarah’s story!

Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her that she could travel anywhere in the world through stories. She never forgot that advice.

Mindy’s travels took her through multiple careers. After graduating from Princeton University, Mindy considered becoming a professional stage manager or a rabbi. Ultimately, though, she settled on being a lawyer, working as a litigator at a large Washington firm. When she realized that lawyering kept her from writing (and dating and sleeping and otherwise living a normal life), Mindy became a librarian, managing large law firm libraries. Mindy now writes full time.

For years, Mindy’s dating life was a travel extravaganza as well. She balanced twenty-eight first dates in one year, selecting eligible gentlemen from sources as varied as Washingtonian magazine ads, Single Volunteers of D.C., and supposedly-certain recommendations from best friends. Ultimately, she swore off the dating scene entirely. After two years of carefully-enforced datelessness, she made one last foray onto Match.com, where she met her husband – on her first match.

Mindy’s travels have also taken her through various literary genres. In addition to her Harlequin Special Editions, Mira, and Red Dress Ink books, Mindy has written six traditional fantasy novels for Roc (including the award-winning, best-selling The Glasswrights’ Apprentice), short stories, and nonfiction essays.

In her spare time, Mindy quilts, knits, and tries to tame the endless to-be-read shelf in her home library. Her husband and cats do their best to fill the leftover minutes.

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