Red stood over him, then looked at Jane. "Babe, would you mind checking outside? Take Mindy and Talia with you. You probably shouldn't be here for this."

“No need," the vampire coughed up, an odd smile on its face. “I'Il tell you what you want." It then coughed up some blood.

The Strays and Raptors looked incredulous. This was getting weirder and weirder.

"I don't trust it," Besla growled. "It is in alliance with the enemy.

It has to be."

"I... was," the vampire growled. He looked at Croc. "You were touched by it, weren't you? I can sense it." The vampire was staring at Croc's useless eye. That was when Croc noticed that BOTH of the vampire's eyes were blood red.

"You've seen it?" Croc said, shivering in spite of himself.

"Yes. More of it than you I should . . . (cough) . . . think. It called out to those it could . . . to those of us that were weak.

It came in our dreams . . . made us promises . . . it was impossible to resist."

"If that's true, it's gotten stronger since your encounter with it,”

Tarloh told Croc.

"No," Jane whispered, burying her head in Red's chest. “It's just gotten closer."

The vampire laid its head down. It was dying, and yet felt nothing but relief. "I see its lies now. In death, I will be beyond its power." It looked at Red, the life draining from its eyes. “Don't listen," it hissed. "Don't listen to what it promises you. There is a price." Then the prisoner died.

Chris was looking at Croc. "So you got touched by this thing, hunh?"

Croc looked back. "Yeah, but I never heard any promises."

"How do WE know that?"

Anya looked vexed. “Chris, if Croc was working with them, we'd be dead right now."

"Maybe," the wereboar said, then turned away and went to help with the dead.

"It's okay," she told the assassin. "He's just angry."

Croc was less willing to let it go, but he didn't push the matter at the moment.

Red looked at Tarloh. “We can't wait. We've got to seal up the dimensional weak spot, and we've got to do it now. If it's powerful enough to exert its influence in this world, then the Elder God is way too close for comfort."

Tarloh nodded with a heavy heart. “Lothar, do you have an idea how to use that thing yet?"

Lothar was holding the Heaven's Eye. “I. . . I think so, I just need to match my will to this thing's, and then convince it of what I need to do. But I won't be able to do that until it's time, and I'll need to be able to see it."

Croc stepped in. “I can open up a hole, but it won't last long.