““Valentina stopped it, freezing the screen as Gavriel bent toward her. “He does it, too. Bites all of them, drinks a ton of blood, and then staggers out. Leaves them alive, every one. They’re saying that’s the Thorn of Istra.” “He is,” said Tana softly. Valentina looked at her, surprised. “Wasn’t his job to stop the spread of infection? Stop outbreaks by killing new vampires?” Tana couldn’t seem to stop staring at the frozen screen, at the greedy expression on Gavriel’s face. Then she gave Valentina a lopsided grin. “I guess he quit. I mean, that’s like a Coney Island–style hot dog–eating contest.””
