Paul nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that. I’ve played back the fight in my memory a few times, and I’m pretty certain they were young. Maybe only their second or third change. No more.”

I did the math. “That means they were infected within the month.”

They both nodded, and Paul said, “Exactly.”

Runner frowned. “Well, that would explain why they didn’t know better than to attack a vampire.”

“They might not even have known what I was,” Paul said. “I bet they smelled I wasn’t human, but it’s unlikely they’ve run into many of my kind in the last month.”

“Wait a minute. How can you tell they were young?” I asked.

Paul shrugged. &ld...

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