Katelina and Verchiel had been in the lounge nearly two hours when a dark cop drama came on. The graphic images stirred too many memories, and Katelina flipped the channel. A chain store's Christmas commercial blared. A smiling Santa Claus gave gusty laughs and added a backdrop of credibility to claims of wondrous toys. Her morbid thoughts tripped back to the bearded man in the parking lot. She could see Verchiel fasten his mouth around the old man's neck and drink-
As if in answer to her silent memories, Verchiel asked, "So you really don't like me?"
She looked at him sharply, suspicious. "How can you possibly claim to be under stress now?"
"What?" Understanding blossomed in his eyes. "Aw, you were thinking about me! How cute!" He patted her head and drew back his hand, before she coul
